Between Us
by midnightstardust
Summary: Midoriya had followed Bakugo since they were kids, though since they've gotten older, their relationship has become almost toxic. Envy, hate, pursuit, awe, rejection, and pride... constantly one upping each other. However, when forced to work together during an assignment for U.A, will it be possible for them to repair the damage and become more than just childhood friends?
1. Getting Started

Between us

 **Katsuki Bakugo p.o.v**

Leaning back in my seat, I put my feet up on my desk. My gaze shifted to the ceiling as I proceeded to tune out the idiot with the glasses and engines on his legs.

 _What's his name? Eita? Eada? Who cares._

He was spouting some bullshit about respecting school property, as if he hasn't seen me do this every day since we got to this place. I closed my eyes and put my hands behind my head, awaiting our secondary teacher, All Might. I checked the time on my phone in my pocket, noting that there were still a few minutes before next period started. The classroom was filled with soft chatter from the people who got back from lunch early.

 _But wait. If the glasses geek was here..._

My eyes slowly opened as I threw a careless glance over my shoulder, checking the seat behind me.

 _Empty._

Thoughsoon after the door to the classroom slid open, in walking the gravity chick and the very bane of my existence. Deku. That nerd. My eyes narrowed upon seeing them walk closer as he reconvened with his other loser friend, watching him spout some excuse as to why they arrived late. Afterwards I closed my eyes again, quickly reminding myself of a more important aspect of my life.

* * *

 **Izuku Midoriya p.o.v**

"Uraraka, let's hurry! I think Iida is waiting for us still." I called out to the brunette slightly behind me.

"Y-Yeah sorry. It was my fault after all... I just got you caught up in what I was doing." She apologized as she and I sprinted down the hallway towards our classroom. I smiled reassuringly and replied as we approached 1-A.

"Not at all! I'm glad you brought me along to help save the cat. And we managed to pull it off safely so there's no problem." I gave her a thumbs up and she smiled and nodded, out of breath and panting we reached the door to our homeroom on time.

 _Iida was too far ahead so we just let him go on to the classroom. He should be in here waiti..._

I tensed up a bit. As soon as I had opened the door I could feel eyes on me. I did a quick look around to see that almost everyone was just chatting amongst themselves. Though, it wasn't too hard to find who's gaze was boring into me...he wasn't exactly trying to hide it.

 _Kacchan...what does he want?_

I could feel his glare become more intense as I walked in and Iida made his way over to me. I wouldn't make eye contact though, that would be like asking him to yell in my face.

"Midoriya, Uraraka, I was quite surprised when I realized you were not with me in the lunch rush. Did something happen?" Iida asked in confusion.

 _I didn't do anything that would piss him off... why would he be glaring at me. Then again, when is he not?_

I was so caught up in my thoughts that I hadn't registered Iida's question, flinching when a hand touched my shoulder. It was Kaminari.

"Hey~ Earth to Midoriya? You there, buddy?" The blond asked, probably having noticed how I spaced out.

"A-Ah yeah! I'm here...Uraraka just saw a stray cat. She couldn't reach him to use her zero gravity so she asked me to help, haha. I'll go to my seat now." I watched them all look at each other with an amused expression at my stuttering response before laughing a bit and brushing it off. I sat down at my desk, realizing that the piercing eyes were no longer on me. Sneaking a glance at the seat in front, I could see Kacchan with his eyes shut and facing the ceiling. I let out a sigh of relief before immediately being startled again by a familiar boisterous laugh.

"AHAHAHA! Class 1-A, prepare yourselves!" A voice belonging to none other than All Might boomed as he zipped in through the door and pointed in our direction. "Today we will be doing something not necessarily exciting... but nonetheless important experience-wise for a hero!"

The class stared at the muscular blond man with perplexed expressions, murmuring to themselves and calling out.

"What part of being a hero isn't exciting?"

"Getting hurt isn't..."

"But that's to be expected!"

"Are you gonna make us clean up garbage or something?"

All Might's never wavering smile seemed to twitch at that. "Uh no... though it is not entirely out of the question."

"Just tell us what the hell it is already." Kacchan growled and shoved his hands in his pockets, eliciting a hearty laugh from the number one hero.

"Young Bakugo! So excited to begin, I see. Alright I won't tease you any longer. Your task for today is... finding a part time job!"

I raised my hand as the class let out a collective groan. "Do you mean like the internships we did before?"

"Not quite, Midoriya. Those internships were part of hero training. But this falls more under the category of training how you react among everyday people! You'll have to balance your time as well because you still have to attend regular classes. As well as interact with people in a polite manner... some could use the training more than others." All Might mumbled quietly at the end and gave Kacchan a thumbs up, earning him a "tch" in response.

"That's so fucking stupid... we're heroes, why would we wanna have some mundane side job? Besides, by the time I'm outta here I'll be rolling in dough as the highest paid hero!"

All Might merely laughed again and began to walk out, "Well you'd better get serious about it because we'll be monitoring your progress! If you want to be a hero you've got to interact nicely with people. Balance your time. And maintain your job status. It will be graded! I'm dismissing you all early so you can go on the hunt! Farewell!"

"Agghhh..." I nervously ran a hand through my hair. "How am I going to balance school, training to master my quirk, and a job all at the same time? No... No, I can do it. This is just for a moral lesson and less about the money anyway. It's only a trial period so I can do it!" I reassured myself and stared down at my hand which I had clenched tightly into a fist.

"Hey. SHUT UP, ya damn nerd! It's irritating when you sit behind me and mumble to yourself like an idiot!"

Immediately I tensed up and pushed my chair back from the angry blond before me, expecting an argument. Although, before I could even get a word out he got up and kicked his chair back in, and silently stormed out. My body lowered its defenses soon after as everyone stood and discussed what kind of jobs they would try for. I stood up as well and grabbed my stuff as Uraraka and Iida approached me.

"Deku, do you have a place in mind?" The brunette girl asked, her large brown eyes gleaming with curiosity. I shook my head and replied, redirecting the question. "What about you guys?"

Iida adjusted the glasses on his nose, "Hmm. I'm not sure…. but certainly nowhere near the school that any of these hooligans may run into me."

"Good point." I uttered with a nervous smile as I hadn't thought of that. I could just imagine the level of bullying that would occur if we had some embarrassing job and someone from school found out...

"Well I was thinking maybe somewhere with animals... like today with the cat... it made me want to help them out." Uraraka chimed in with a determined expression on her face. I agreed that it would be a great idea as we all walked out of the school, separating from them soon after and beginning my journey home with a lot to consider.

* * *

I walked briskly around the city looking for any stores that had "now hiring" displayed on their front windows. I found a few, but a lot of them required prior experience that I had none of.

"Man, this is harder than I thought it'd be..." I murmured and hung my head as I was nearing my own street. I grimaced at the idea of making the walk of shame to my house without finding a prospective job.

 _Though ma_ _ybe I could ask my mom if she knows of any good places._

As I was thinking that I lifted my head to look around at stores, a little kid's laughter catching my attention as she was excitedly pulling her father somewhere.

"C'mon dad! The hero café! I wanna go...please~ they're having a grand opening! Let's go!" The small girl pleaded and tugged on the older man's jacket.

 _Hero café? Is that like some kind of cosplay shop? I've never heard of it..._ _but there are places that have similar themes._

I glanced down at my phone and searched for the place, finding that it was not too far from my neighborhood. I figured it could be worth checking out and so I quickly put it in my gps and walked a good distance to the small hole-in-the-wall restaurant. On its windows were brightly colored images of various heroes as well as a 'grand opening' sign. 'The Hero Café' was written in white letters on the awning above, but I saw nothing indicating that they needed workers. Despite that, I entered, feeling drawn in by the striped rainbow colors as the inside was similarly decorated, though in a more modest fashion. The place seemed to have only just opened its doors, occupied with just a few excited kids and tourists. I looked around until I found the front desk and introduced myself to the girl at the cash register.

"Um hi, would you be hiring by any chance?" I asked, followed by a nervous laugh. The girl at the register popped her gum before speaking to me. "No... but maybe you can convince the owner to hire you. Weird, you aren't the first to ask either... she should be in the back interviewing another kid. Go right ahead."

"Oh thanks." I bowed my head in acknowledgement for letting me in and walked down a hallway to an 'employee only' room.

 _Someone else is already applying? This place is so brand new... but it's small so I didn't think it would be this popular. Wonder what the other applicant is like... based on whether they're a hardworking and easy to get along with person... this job would be a breeze!_

I knocked before pushing open the door and introducing myself.

"Hello, my name is-"

"DEKU?!" An incredulous yet annoyed shout came from none other than Kacchan who was sitting at an empty table with what I assume was an application in his hands. "The fuck are you doing here?!"

 _Hell. This place was going to be hell._


	2. Rapid-fire

**Izuku Midoriya p.o.v**

My mind went blank for a moment, an awkward and almost painful expression on my face as I watched my childhood friend get up and face me.

 _This was my nightmare._

"Well?! Ya gonna answer, nerd?" The blond growled and inched closer, causing my body to shake instinctively.

 _God, why can't I relax around him?! I'm not scared. I'm not! It's just... the aura he gives off... like a wild animal._

I swallowed, staring back at him. "I'm here applying for a job... same as you."

"Oh no you're not." He responded roughly and I watched as his hand reflexively shot out, like he was about to use his quirk. "I refuse to work anywhere with you, find somewhere else."

I flinched at the tone he used, something I always hated about him. "No! I have just as much of a right to work here as you do!" I shot back, my teeth clenched as I stood my ground. It crossed my mind that this situation was similar to when he first found out I had applied to U.A. _Did he seriously just not like me? I haven't done anything to him... why does he hate me?_ These thoughts swirled in my head at the moment, spurring me on to confront him about it.

"What's your problem, Kacchan?! If you really can't stand to be near me then why haven't you walked out yet?" I challenged, watching his face shift to one of annoyance.

"No way in hell would I walk out when you can turn your sorry ass back out that door." He countered and I saw the palm of his hand light up with a charge. "Or do I have to make you leave..."

The familiar feeling of intimidation washed over me as my body tensed up for a fight or flight reaction. _Why does it always have to come to this with him? Is it because I know he's not bluffing? I knew he could hurt me... I knew he WOULD too._

I suddenly shook my head to snap myself out of that mindset. Looking down at my hands as familiar reddish-purple markings began to manifest themselves onto my skin.

 _I have a quirk now. I can defend myself. I don't want to fight him... but he isn't giving me much of a choice._

The air between us was almost pulsating with tension as we stared each other down and prepared to move forward. I looked down to keep track of when his arm would react, but to my surprise he lunged forward.

 _Damn! He's trying to move unpredictably!_

I screwed my eyes shut and propelled myself forward to meet his blow, trying my best to maintain my 5% limit. However, even though I threw my punch and I'm sure Kacchan came at me, we didn't clash. I didn't feel the heat of any kind of explosion.

"What the..." I heard Kacchan say and I peeked an eye open, gasping as for some reason I was staring into the face of Mr. Aizawa.

"Oh-!" I fumbled with my words as I pulled my arm back to my side, registering quickly that he had nullified our quirks. With a sigh the brooding older man's hair lowered as he blinked and loosened his grip on our abilities.

"Now. What do you two have to say for yourselves after making me waste energy on your petty squabble?" Mr. Aizawa asked in a dry humorless voice.

I dared a glance at Kacchan who scowled and averted his gaze to the side. I frowned at his behavior, frustrated that it seemed like he was targeting me for no particular reason.

"Sorry Mr-" Suddenly it clicked to me that we were in the backroom of some random café in the city. Where on earth had he come from?

"How did you know we were here...?" I questioned.

Mr. Aizawa looked towards the door and muttered, "Ms. Midnight. You wanna come out and fill them in?"

"Hmm~ I was hoping to watch a bit longer." Came said woman's voice as she casually pushed open the door and gave us a grin. "A youthful clash between two young boys! So full of spirit and passion!" She gushed and strolled over to the rest of us. Mr. Aizawa merely stared at her with a deadpanned expression, nonchalantly moving on.

"We're here because we're the overseers for this part-time job assignment. Our priorities are to make sure you two are integrating well with society... and not using your quirks to annihilate the employees-only lounge." Aizawa explained.

Suddenly it all made sense. The "hero" cafe? Suddenly showing up when we just so happened to need a job? I knew it was too good to be true.

"So anyway! If you're going to be working at this café then we'll need you to be on your best behavior! It's mostly just playing the part of a hero and entertaining the kids... serve food... and man the register." Ms. Midnight explained. To be quite honest, that didn't sound like such a bad time.

"Well I'm not working here with this dumbass onboard, I'm out." Kacchan griped, tossing the paper application on the floor behind him as he began to walk out.

 _Can't he just say something nice for once?_

Ms. Midnight seemed to be expecting this as she crossed her arms with a grin. "Oh yeah? That's a shame Bakugo. How will you accept your failure? Black or red ink?"

"NEITHER! I'll find a job somewhere else!" He shouted and stomped off, Ms. Midnight calling impishly behind him.

"Alright~ Well if you change your mind then show up here for work tomorrow at 7 a.m sharp. I'll be expecting you."

* * *

 **Omniscient p.o.v**

The last thing Midoriya would expect to see that next morning as he sleepily pushed open the door to the hero café- was Bakugo in a candy cane striped apron and a cute hat and bowtie to boot. In fact, the messy green haired boy choked on his croissant upon walking in, earning him a glare from the blond.

Bakugo, who looked about ready to spontaneously combust, merely turned to the other and gripped the apron tightly. "Deku I swear to god-"

"Kacchan! You... you're here." Midoriya interjected, knowing better than to comment on his appearance. Though to be quite honest, he was far more taken with the fact that the other had actually swallowed his pride and stayed. Even Bakugo seemed genuinely surprised with that response, only speaking when a startled yell came from the shorter male.

"Y-Your apron!" Midoriya warned and pointed out the singed edges that Bakugo was holding, a result of his near temper tantrum.

"It's fine! Shut up already." The blond grumbled.

"Sheesh. That'd be the third one since he got here." Ms. Midnight suddenly chimed in as she walked over from the back room, holding out another apron, hat, and bowtie to Midoriya. "Good morning~ Go get changed in the employee lounge. When you're done, meet us out here and I'll show you two the ropes."

The freckled boy nodded and scarfed down his breakfast, taking the clothes from her and heading to the back. Ms. Midnight eyed him with a smirk before turning back to Bakugo. "Surprisingly you showed up before he did~ Good call keeping this job, kiddo."

The blond merely looked around the café before mumbling, "You made it so certain places stood out to us, didn't you? You must have been partnered with businesses all over the city."

Ms. Midnight's smile widened a bit. "Oh? So you aren't just a violent angry little thing, you're quite intuitive. Yes, U.A has a few connections. Has that been bothering you~?"

"I went out looking for another job yesterday... but _coincidentally_ no one was willing to hire a U.A student." Bakugo exclaimed and crossed his arms. However, before Ms. Midnight could reply, Midoriya stepped out in the same candy stripe apron as the blond.

"Perfect! Now, let's get started Immediately. Besides the chef... you two will be in charge of opening the store, Sometimes closing, waiting the tables, and manning the cash register." The raven haired woman explained, walking them throughout the store and showing them how to do certain things. Midoriya tried his best to take down notes in his small notebook, though he couldn't help but feel awkward around Bakugo who barely looked his way and seemed irritated. They had almost fought in the store on their first day and yet they were supposed to get along for however long this assignment lasted. A feeling of unease washed over him as Ms. Midnight declared that she'd be supervising elsewhere, and on her way out she flipped the closed sign to open. The store was small, so neither of them expected many customers to come in.

Boy were they wrong.

At first the place was dead as it was still early, falling on them to do very mundane tasks like counting the money in the register and sweeping. Though at around breakfast time it seemed like a huge influx of customers seemed to swarm the place.

"Where the fuck did all these people come from?!" Bakugo growled as he held 2 trays full of food in his hands and Midoriya wrote up note after note of orders. Even if that loser, Deku, was around... he figured he could still manage the place relatively easily... though customers kept streaming in like a faucet. If one more person asked him for a bottle of ketchup or light ice, he'd flip his shit.

"I don't know?! Breakfast rush?" Midoriya replied in distress, despite not being sure if the other's question was rhetorical. He stopped and gazed timidly at the small café bustling with adults, college students, and parents with kids. The constant chatter and calls for his attention were leaving him frantic. How was he ever going to serve them all?! Bakugo was barely keeping himself ontop of the orders. This place was supposed to be new and unheard of! He was starting to feel overwhelmed as nervousness washed over him.

"Excuse me! I ordered my food about twenty minutes ago." A man grumbled at him.

"Oh ah- right away sir, sorry!" Midoriya piped up and sped towards kitchen, slipping on a mystery liquid on the floor and falling on his rear. Bakugo couldn't help but snicker.

"Dumbass!" He shouted with a distinct lack of sympathy, though nearly tripping himself as something tugged the back of his apron. It was a kid trying to get his attention and he all but snapped. "Don't grab me, you brat!" The small boy teared up in response and withdrew his hand, clutching something close to his chest.

That was the last straw for Midoriya, getting up with an angered yell. "KACCHAN! You can't treat kids that way!" He declared as he marched over and tried to console the child. He patted the boy's head and spoke in a soft tone, noting that his parents weren't around.

"Sorry, he didn't mean it...where are your parents?"

"...My mommy's in bathroom..." The child hesitantly spoke through tears and rubbed at his eyes. "I just got bored... so I went to talk to him but he's so mean and scary!"

Midoriya laughed at that, much to the taller male's annoyance. "I know, but because we're working... we aren't able to play around."

"I just wanted to know who his favorite hero was!"

"It's me, of course." Bakugo stated flatly as he passed by them and served someone on their left. Midoriya didn't look surprised at that answer and instead wiped the boy's tears with a napkin. "Nevermind him. Who's _your_ favorite hero?"

The boy seemed to fidget for a bit before pulling the small item he was clutching to his chest away and showing it off. A small smile inched its way onto Midoriya's face upon seeing the buff plastic figure of All Might.

"Haha, me too. You know, he's a teacher at our school..."

"Wow, you met him?!" The child asked excitedly. Bakugo watched the two fanboy over the number one hero as he waited tables, albeit quietly as he griped over the fact that Midoriya was better with kids. However, the freckled boy quickly remembered that he was on the job and ran back to the man he had promised his food.

"I'm so sorry sir! I got distracted, I'll get your food right awa-" He paused upon realizing the man was already eating, said man looking up at him with a raised eyebrow.

"That blond kid brought it to me a while ago." He simply stated before shooing him off. Midoriya went silent upon hearing that, knowing full well that they each had separate tables that they were responsible for. He snuck a glance at Bakugo who was ringing up a customer and taking orders to go. It really made him feel inferior knowing that he had gotten distracted so easily while the other handled everything himself.

It wasn't until after the breakfast _AND_ lunch rush was over that the two of them even had time for a breath of fresh air, locking up the café and tossing their aprons off in exhaustion in the empty shop.

"This grade better be fucking worth this shit." Bakugo hissed to himself as he counted the money in the register, seemingly pleased with the amount as he shut it soon after. Midoriya had taken it upon himself to clear off all the tables and do some cleaning. Although, today's events had been eating at him a bit... he had to ask.

"Kacchan..."

"What."

"Why...did you help me? That table was my responsibility. If a customer complained then I could have gotten fired and I would have failed the assignment." Midoriya uttered quietly and averted his gaze to the floor. Bakugo replied instantly.

"Because, shitty Deku. You dealt with the kid. We just switched situations, I'm sure that kid could have complained to his mom that I yelled at him or whatever."

 _Of course that was the reason why..._ Midoriya thought, biting his lip as he thought for once the other had genuinely been nice to him. He let out a sigh as the two of them got ready to leave, he walked out after Bakugo and the two of them stopped abruptly upon seeing a cardboard cutout of Ms. Midnight in front of the store.

"The fuck?" Bakugo exclaimed and shoved his hands in his pockets, leaning forward to read the words, "Hero Café grand opening special."

"This wasn't here before..." Midoriya mumbled upon closer inspection, coming across a nearly finished stack of promotional cards attached to the cutout. He plucked one off and read it aloud, "for every visit to the hero café you get a free sundae."

Bakugo picked up another one of the cards to read for himself, "For every visit to the hero café you get the chance to meet All Might..."

The two of them were quiet for a while as they processed what this all meant. Midoriya parted his lips to speak but it came out as a yelp as the card exploded in Bakugo's hand and he shook with anger.

"She ensured that this place would be filled to fucking capacity with these stupid cards!" He roared into the night.

"Kacchan calm down!"

"THAT OLD HAG!"


	3. Mercurial

**Midoriya p.o.v**

Despite working so closely with Kacchan the past few days, nothing had really changed between us. It wasn't hard to tell that we were still highly estranged from each other as he walked right past me in the hallway without a single word. I clutched the books I was holding tightly against my chest as I actually had planned on saying something to him. I pulled my cell phone out of my pocket and reread the text from Ms. Midnight, verifying that we would be working the café late tonight.

I sighed in exhaustion. "It was supposed to be our day off..." I mumbled pitifully to myself as I was already cutting out a lot of sleep in order to work out. I then took a deep breath and put my phone away.

 _I could handle this. No one becomes a great hero without a struggle!_ I pep talked myself and walked to class, figuring that I'd just confirm with Kacchan later. I slid the door open to the classroom and took my usual seat just in time as Mr. Aizawa came in very soon after.

"Morning class. I've got another assignment for you to do." He uttered in that same monotonous tone of his, shooting the class a jaded look as many students groaned and protested.

"We're already in the middle of an assignment, aren't we...?" Kirishima whined and laid his head on his desk in despair. I glanced around the classroom, noting that they all did look a little drained of energy. It made me wonder what everyone else's schedules were like, as well as appreciate that they were all taking this seriously.

"Are you trying to work us to death?!"

"Give us a break..."

"You slavedriver!"

Mr. Aizawa scoffed. "Ha. Just because you've got part time jobs now doesn't mean you don't have to work while you're here too." He simply stated as he tapped a book on the desk to reclaim everyone's attention.

"Relax. It's more like a recap so you don't get rusty when it comes to fighting. I'll introduce the concept today and we'll discuss it in detail tomorrow, you bunch of babies." There were reluctant murmurs of consent around the room before Mr. Aizawa continued to explain.

"It will be another team test consisting of two people-"

"Again?!" Came an angry outburst from in front of me. I closed my eyes as I knew what this was leading into.

 _Oh boy. Here we go._

I averted my eyes from the protesting blond as he ranted. "How many times are you gonna force us together?! We should be focusing on our own individual strengths. We won't always be fighting with others!"

Mr. Aizawa seemed to raise his head and stare down at Kacchan condescendingly. "While some of that is true, I'd like to remind you that you are enrolled in this academy because you /aren't/ skilled enough to be a hero on your own. Therefore, we're trying to encourage the idea of grouping up and combining the strength of others so you'll have a better chance at success."

"BUT-"

"-However. Bakugo, you are welcome to try the test on your own." Our teacher interrupted before shooting the heated boy a sharp glare. "Though the odds are that you'll fail miserably against a team of two by yourself."

 _Ouch. Mr. Aizawa was harsh as always..._

I stared at my childhood friend for a response despite only being able to see his back. He was silent, but visibly shaking and irritated. I could tell he was trying to contain himself.

 _What kind of face is he making right now... everyone wants to get stronger on their own, but I can understand why we're teamed up more often than not. We're still first years..._

After that, we did some regular school stuff and class drawled on for a while until the bell rang. I found myself occasionally looking over at Kacchan who had gone quiet for the rest of class. Obviously anyone could see why he was so fixated on getting stronger on his own. I knew his goal well. Everyone did. He proclaimed it loud all the time. He wants to surpass all of us and become number one.

As the bell rang, I got up and remembered that I would be closing up the café with the other. I frowned as I set my sights on the spiky haired blond who was already making a beeline for the door. However, I stopped when Uraraka gently tapped my shoulder.

"Deku, do you want to go home together?" She asked sweetly and held her bag behind her back.

 _Ah...what an angel... too bad I'd have to decline and deal with the devil._

I sighed with a miserable expression on my face, silently lamenting my fate. "Oh man… I wish I could, but I've got work to get to."

"I see...The vet where I'm part-timing is closed today. Sorry, I guess I figured we all had similar schedules." She responded with an apologetic smile.

 _Ms. Midnight why!?_

"Aw... alright, another time then." She murmured and patted my back. I wistfully watched her leave before realizing Kacchan had already gone on ahead, causing me to sprint ahead and catch up.

"Kacchan! Wait up!" I shouted to the familiar back in the distance, though he didn't stop until I got closer and stepped in front of him. He seemed to be brooding more than usual and it's as if my presence made his mood even worse.

"What do you want, Deku." He cut to the chase and didn't make eye contact with me. My brow furrowed at his aggressive tone but I tried to assure myself that this was normal.

"Ah… I just wanted to check if you knew we would be working till late for the night shift... we had been informed of a day off but then I got this surprise text-"

"Yes I know, I have eyes and a fucking phone. Out of my way!" He growled and shoved me to the side. I gasped and stumbled but regained my balance, whirling around and narrowing my eyes at his fleeting figure.

 _Did he seriously push me just for asking a question? Well excuse me for trying to make sure he doesn't fail the assignment._ My frown deepened as I rubbed my arm where he applied the most force, my gaze lowering to the concrete ground. Well he could've done worse... if anything he held back compared to how much power he used on me in the past.

I clenched my hands into fists at my sides and prepared to sulk all the way to the café. I was so preoccupied with that, I almost missed it when a low voice called my name from behind.

"Midoriya."

I stopped and scanned the area, taking a few steps back towards the school before finally locating the source once he also walked forward from where he had been leaning against the building. I was puzzled by the familiar face calling to me but gave a nervous smile as the red and white haired boy approached me.

"Uh, hi Todoroki..." I replied with an awkward laugh. He had the same stoic expression as usual as he looked behind me for a second before speaking.

"Not that it's any of my business but... I thought you weren't on speaking terms with that guy."

"Oh you saw that, huh?" I muttered despondently.

Todoroki looked away before explaining, "I was going to find you after class but you seemed busy, then I saw you run after him."

"Well... it's not like I hate him. I only ran after him to remind him of the part-time assignment! We work at the same place and he just-" I paused as I realized I was a little too defensive in trying to justify my actions. I took a breath before registering what Todoroki said and looking up at him.

"Huh? Wait, you were going to find me after class? Did you need something?" I asked curiously as the taller male seemed to ponder for a moment. He didn't take too long however, responding soon after as if deciding on something.

"Yes. I have my own selfish proposal to make. You haven't picked a partner yet, correct? For the new assignment?"

"No..."

"Then how about being my partner?"

I waited for a moment. Then another. Then my jaw seemed to fall open in shock.

"WHAT?! B-B-BUT!? Me?!" I stuttered like a fool and pointed to myself. I would have never thought someone like Todoroki would go out of their way to ask me to pair up! Especially when he could honestly have his choice of anyone in the class. The stoic boy easily picked up on my surprise and decided to elaborate on this plan of his.

"It's not like I haven't observed your skill when it comes to strategy... I'm sure the whole class has picked up on it. I figured you'd balance me out. I'm not terrible, but I tend to go on the defensive and that may not be enough for this test."

I immediately felt the need to belittle myself as I swear I started to recount every single failed moment in my life to him. "But I'm not that great! Remember how I failed against you in the headband race?! And during the actual tournament...? My strategies aren't that praiseworthy-"

Todoroki spoke up to quickly reject that mentality with a simple, "No. You're worthy." I felt my chest swell up at that moment as I watched the other give me the faintest nod of approval.

"Both times you explained, you gave me a run for my money. I was honestly disappointed coming over here because i thought you went to ask Bakugo to be your partner. Though if you'll have me, please use me to our advantage." Todoroki added reassuringly.

I could tell my eyes were shiny as they seemed to gloss over with the threat of tears, though I held them back and responded confidently.

"Sure! I won't let you down!"

* * *

 **Omniscient p.o.v**

"Why are there scorch marks on my cardboard cutout." Ms. Midnight asked pointedly, her eyes locked on Bakugo who was looking anywhere but her way.

"I tried to tell him not to..." Midoriya grumbled quietly to himself as they surprisingly didn't get scolded for it, instead the punishment would be that they had to stay till 11 p.m and lock up the store.

"You're just making us do it because you want to leave early!" Bakugo accused, causing Ms. Midnight to giggle and blow him a kiss.

"Nope~ I'm just teaching you a lesson. The fact that my favorite show starts at 10:45 is of little to no importance." She exclaimed mischievously as she shooed them off to go change.

Midoriya stared out of the window of the backroom and made a face at the late afternoon sky. It was getting colder as winter came about and darkness fell rather quickly. As he tied his apron he watched as Bakugo pushed open the door to go greet the customers that were just trickling in. Midoriya resigned to the fact that the other was in a sour mood and decided he'd just ignore it. He began waiting tables, but anyone could see that his heart wasn't in it that evening. It was around 8 p.m so it was mostly adults coming in for a quick bite and maybe a couple families. Midoriya was absentmindedly carrying a tray to a table when one of the smaller kids knocked into him and doused his apron in marinara sauce.

"Oops! I'm sorry!" The little girl panicked as Midoriya blinked in surprise as if he just realized it.

"Oh, it's alright... I can always get a new one." The freckled boy assured her and pulled the apron away from his shirt so it wouldn't seep through. Ms. Midnight walked in from the backroom upon hearing the commotion and knit her brow at the glaring red stain.

"Actually, we don't have any more aprons... I have yet to order new ones after /someone/ burned the others, Bakugo." She added the last part for good measure and the blond seemed to flinch at his name being called.

"So what. You expect me to take the blame for Deku being a clumsy geek?" He countered as he wrote down an order.

"No, I expect you to take the blame for destroying store property... honestly I should deduct points for that behavior. But perhaps I can take it out of your paycheck instead." Ms. Midnight shot back as she turned around to grab her coat and leave. "Anyway, Midoriya you might want to take that off before it stains your clothes. Try not to mess up what you have on underneath too, and you can thank Bakugo for not having a replacement."

Midoriya sighed as she walked out before removing his apron, staring down at the absurd amount of sauce that splattered the front. He hadn't noticed that Bakugo was watching this as the guilt was admittedly starting to get to him. He tried to ignore it for a bit but finally after struggling with some sort of internal conflict with himself, he removed his own apron and threw it at the smaller boy.

"Whatever! Just take mine since I ruined the others. Try not to be such a klutz this time around, loser." The fiery teen snapped as Midoriya just barely caught the piece of fabric. The smaller boy was surprised at the gesture and hesitated for a second after he remembered how Bakugo treated him earlier. He almost threw it back at him before figuring it was like some sort of truce and just tying the other's apron around his neck and waist. He seemed to appreciate that the taller male's apron was bigger and wrapped around him snugly.

"...Thanks." Midoriya stated in acknowledgment for the apron, his eyes falling on the blond who's back was to him as he grunted in response. Midoriya strangely enough stayed fixated on the other as he worked and worried that Bakugo would get his own shirt messed up with no covering. All the blond was left in was a white button down shirt, his black slacks, and a bowtie. He almost looked like a bartender, Midoriya noted as the place got busier and Bakugo rolled up his sleeves and popped open some of the buttons on his shirt. He caught himself staring at the taller male in many instances throughout the night as he worked... convincing himself that it was because of how aggravated the blond boy seemed.

The night soon crawled to an end as it was almost time for closing. By now the families and adults that were previously there had paid and gone home, leaving behind an empty store and two worn out teenagers.

"$180...$190...$200." Midoriya counted the cash at the register wearily as Bakugo cleaned up as they often switched jobs each night. The green haired boy let out a drawled out sigh and looked out at the pitch blackness of nightfall awaiting him.

"Great... I see why they call it the graveyard shift. It's so dark out there I'll probably trip and drop the padlock on my foot." He muttered to himself in a bitter-sweet tone before a large man caught his attention outside of the window. The freckled boy raised an eyebrow as the man stumbled into the café, obnoxiously pointing at the open sign that was yet to be flipped.

"You're still open... lemme get a…" The man slurred and trailed off mid sentence. As he leaned closer to the counter, Midoriya could clearly smell alcohol on his breath and his brow crinkled in worry.

"Oh we're actually closed... we just haven't turned the sign around. The chef has already gone-"

"SHADDAP! Are you denying... the c-customer?!" The man yelled in a drunken stupor and jabbed the small teen in the chest. Midoriya observed the man's inebriated state and decided he had to treat this situation with some tact. He took a deep breath before responding with a forced smile. "I'm sorry sir, but we are literally unable to serve you at this time. It's clear that you've been drinking, do you want me to call you an uber?" Midoriya replied with his most congenial tone of voice, though it fell upon deaf ears. The teen soon found himself grabbed by the front of his apron and yanked closer over the counter.

"ARE YOU TRYNA SAY I'M DRUNK?!" The man bellowed, loud enough that Bakugo looked up in annoyance to see what was happening. While most people would be flustered at this point, Midoriya steeled his nerves and stared directly at the man's livid face.

"I'm going to have to ask you to leave."

"Ballsy! Saying that right in front of my face? Say it again, I DARE YA!" The man replied and held up a fist.

Midoriya grit his teeth at this action, knowing full well that he couldn't use one for all on this man who was not in his right state of mind. He wasn't a villain terrorizing the city... what could he do at that point? He figured the only thing he could do was reinforce his earlier statement.

"You have to leave now!" Midoriya shouted firmly, his hand clenched into a fist.

The man did not respond verbally and instead threw a punch. Midoriya screwed his eyes shut and braced himself for what was to come, hoping that a strategy to handle this peacefully would come about in the seconds after. He could call the police... yeah... they could deal with something like this. While adrenaline seemed to pump through his body as he braced for impact, he quickly opened his eyes as he heard the sounds of struggling. Upon opening his eyes and seeing that Bakugo had caught the man's fist, Midoriya could only let out a relieved sigh. Although, that didn't last long as he saw the look on the blond's face and realized what he intended to do next.

Midoriya quickly yelled, "stop! You'll fail if you bring any harm to a potential customer! We aren't here to hurt anyone, the café will get a bad reputation!"

Bakugo's eyes narrowed, and to Midoriya's horror he looked absolutely murderous even after his pleading. Despite looking into the face of death itself, the man grinned.

"T-That's right. You little heroes will fail whatever stupid test-"

"I couldn't give two shits." Bakugo interrupted, tightening his grip to make sure he got his point across. He then held up his other hand and caused a small but violently loud explosion to go off in his hand.

"Get the hell outta here before I blow you to the moon." The blond threatened in a low menacing tone before flinging the man's arm back and watching him yelp. The message seemed to be well received as the man quickly ran out of the store, yelling threats and curses back in their direction.

Midoriya felt almost sick watching this... feeling shame in his uselessness during that situation. He had come up with a strategy sure, but realized that it would have taken quite a while for the police to arrive. Would he have just taken a beating in the meantime? He knew he couldn't attack the man, and had resolved not to use one for all. Therefore, he hadn't thought of using the quirk in a threatening way that doesn't physically harm anyone. Midoriya merely slumped to the floor in shock at his shortcomings, though that didn't stop Bakugo from yelling at him.

"What the hell were you doing?! Were you just gonna stand there, you idiot?" The taller boy chastised the other and pulled him up off the floor.

"I...I just..." Midoriya began, his expression was blank before tears brimmed in his eyes. "I froze. I didn't know what to do!" He yelled back and furiously wiped the tears away.

"What?! You always know what to do! It's one of the reasons I hate your ass! Stop fucking crying!" Bakugo replied, though his tone seemed to soften to one of mild annoyance.

"I can't stop! They just keep coming...!"

"Fucking- Deku, stop that shit! So what if you couldn't think of something on the spot this one time! That's what you had me... for..." Bakugo stopped as if he realized something and let the other go.

"No wonder they keep paring us up with other people."

Midoriya couldn't help but chuckle as he cleaned his face with a tissue, wondering why it seemed to take this long for his childhood friend to realize the power of teamwork. "Yes... and... thank you. Again. But next time I'll definitely be the one to save you!" The smaller boy declared.

"Yeah right, you only seem to be good at talking to kids and fanboying over All Might."

A faint smile played on Midoriya's lips as he replied, "you're talking about that one kid you yelled at...? I could resonate well with him because he was also quirkless. He was inspired to come to the café because it portrayed all his favorite heroes... really, just to come to a café he was super excited. You really should be nicer to kids... they may end up helping you once you're old and retired, haha."

Bakugo seemed to have an uninterested scowl on his face but he listened the whole time, getting up only to grab his jacket and prepare to leave. "Yeah yeah, whatever. Like some quirkless brat is gonna surpass me." He muttered under his breath before tossing Midoriya's jacket to him as well.

"Hurry up and flip the sign before anymore useless drunks walk in."


	4. Dead of Winter

**Midoriya p.o.v**

"Three sundaes, an omelet, and an iced tea to table five." Yelled Kacchan who was just leaving the kitchen with platters of food.

"Right!" I shouted back as I placed two trays of sweets down in front of some kids. The café was busy as always, though I was making a lot fewer mistakes lately. As for Kacchan, it was rare of him to make a mistake in the first place. I couldn't help but wonder if he had a job like this already with the way he was able to manage it all.

"Five hero specials, table six!"

"Alright!"

"Two apple juices and spicy curry to table one."

"O-Okay..." I muttered as I tried to memorize all this information. I sighed in disbelief at the amount of time management this job seemed to take.

 _Jeez, and I thought I was getting better._

"Excuse me mister, I ordered the strawberry cheesecake." A woman addressed me as she pointed down at the wings in front of her.

 _Ah! Had I messed up the order...? Were the wings for table three then? Then who did I give cheesecake to just now?!_

"Sorry ma'am! I-I'll take that back...!" I apologized before looking at both my hands which were already full holding two silver platters.

"Um.. ah-" Before I could even get a word out, I felt the platters leave my hand and a familiar blond head brush past me.

"Deku the bathroom in the employee room needs cleaning. Hop to it, nerd." Kacchan said with a scowl as he began tending to the tables that I should be serving.

"Uh sure..." I said with a slight nod, still a bit frazzled about all the orders in my head as I grabbed the mop and bucket from the storage closet. Letting out a sigh as I finally had a moment to breathe, I headed to the back and pushed open the door to the bathroom. However, everything was already neat and tidy. I raised an eyebrow and scanned the room. Toilet paper stocked, floor mopped, walls practically sparkling... hell someone had even left a vase of flowers and air freshener in there.

"I guess he accidentally-..." I shut my mouth immediately as my fried brain made sense of the situation, astonished at the fact that... kacchan... he was trying to give me a break? This isn't the first time either, I realized. It seemed like he was always helping me out underhandedly lately. I dragged the mop and bucket out of the bathroom and poke my head out at the seating area. I glanced at my childhood friend, quickly running around the café and completely immersed in his work. He was clearly breaking a sweat from trying to take on my tables and his own, and as I watched him I could feel my cheeks heat up slightly.

 _What was I doing?! I need to go help with the lunch rush!_

As I returned the mop and bucket to the storage closet I heard some kids making a racket, turning around to go see what was going on.

"Hey you! I thought this was the hero café! Where are the heroes?! It's just you and that other little guy here." A small girl snarkily declared.

A boy next to her, presumably her brother, poked at Kacchan repeatedly while he was trying to take their orders. "Why are you so angry looking... do you have to poop?"

I saw my childhood friend inhale sharply and lower his head, his hand tightening around his pen in a death grip. My heart dropped upon seeing his reaction and I quickly began to make my way over.

 _He's gonna snap... I should help!_

"HEY KIDS. WANNA SEE SOMETHING COOL?!" The blond declared with an absolutely insane grin as he whipped his hands out in front of him.

"No Kacchan, WAIT!" My eyes widened as I was about to grab him back before seeing him spark a few harmless explosions in his hands. I withdrew my own hand as I saw the kids faces beam in delight at the mini light show.

"Whoa..." I muttered to myself incredulously. He restrained his annoyance... before, he definitely would've yelled at those children.

"Hey! I remember him now!" The girl giggled excitedly and nudged the little boy. "He's the explosion guy! From the U.A sports festival!"

The boy seemed skeptical for a moment before his face lit up wth recognition and he clapped in pure jubilation. "Oh yeah! You're right, the spiky blond one! Wow, you're so cool... you came in number one!"

I looked at Kacchan for a reaction, knowing that he didn't accept that first place as his own. Though to my surprise, he looked dumbfounded at the kids praises. He was quiet for a second and seemed to not know how to react before pointing to himself in a cocky manner.

"...Yeah well you brats haven't seen nothing yet. That tournament was bull, I'll win on my own merit next year and show you how awesome I really am." He boasted, earning a few laughs from the family. I let out a small chuckle myself as I began waiting tables again, happy to let him handle the kids. Although it wasn't another few seconds before they were pointing at me in recognition as well.

"Hey it's the really strong one too! I didn't even notice him!"

"He fought the ice and flames guy..." I blushed a bit as the café was now lively with conversation about us, feeling a bit awkward with the attention.

"Oh my... it seems we should add your faces to the walls of the café too~" Ms. Midnight whispered sneakily to me as she emerged from the back and gave me a wink.

"Whoa! It's Ms. Midnight!" People cheered and began taking tons of pictures, though she didn't seem to mind. With the crowd mostly distracted with seeing a pro hero, I was able to keep on top of the orders. In fact, I completely caught up thanks to Kacchan's help. I couldn't help but have a goofy smile on my face with the pleasant atmosphere, eager to find the blond and thank him as I noticed he was struggling with a party platter for a big table. I made it over to him with a quickness that could rival one-for-all, scooping up some of the trays as he looked at me with a furrowed brow.

"Hey dumbass, you can't handle all these at once."

"And you can?" I shot back, only to see him clench his teeth.

"Of course I can, I'm fucking amazing."

"Just let me help, Kacchan..." I replied with a small smile, and just for a moment I swore I could see his cheeks go pink.

"Yeah whatever. Table four."

* * *

 **Midoriya p.o.v**

I yawned, nodding in and out of the lesson all day as Mr. Aizawa spoke to us from some book. Despite not working late at the café yesterday, they were not letting up on the normal homework we were getting. As well as I wasn't about to slack on my training with one-for-all. I was still physically exhausted as I tuned out a bit of what Mr. Aizawa said, though perked back up sometime in the middle of him explaining something.

"So as previously stated, I'll be giving you your assignment for hero training today." Our teacher explained as he wrote in chalk on the board, earning a few curious gazes from the class. "This is more of an analytical assignment, so bear with me, you'll have to actually use your brains." He declared in that dry sarcastic tone where you couldn't quite tell if he was joking or not.

I sat up straighter in my seat at this info, gripping my pencil and getting out my hero notebook.

 _It would be a good idea to take notes on this assignment then..._

"In teams of two, you will be pairing up and launching an attack against another team of two. See, it's nothing crazy." The dark haired man continued before turning to face us after drawing a chart labeling the steps to the assignment. "We're letting you pick your own partners instead of forcing you together, therefore you'll have time to form some kind of plan. This is basically a strategy exercise that will test your thinking skills."

Kirishima raised his hand, though spoke without being called on, "Where and when is this being held anyway?"

Mr. Aizawa looked at him and sighed, "it'll be somewhere on campus and will take place very soon. Listen, we've gotta have some kind of element of surprise. Especially if we're letting you plan an attack with someone you chose. Us teachers gotta throw a few curveballs or this assignment may prove too easy. Any objections?" He asked, his eyes falling promptly on Kacchan.

The blond had his eyes fixated on the window and remained silent, in fact I could feel the indifference radiating off of him. The corners of my mouth quirked up in a tiny smile. I guess he was done trying to challenge the teacher.

"Good." Mr. Aizawa stated flatly. "Now, I'll give you until tomorrow morning to get back to me about partners. Once everyone is paired up, us teachers will decide what team goes against the other. Class dismissed."

Immediately the room started buzzing with chatter as everyone excitedly went around trying to claim a partner. I on the other hand, began flipping through my notebook. I was somewhat confident that I had listed enough information on my classmates to know some of their strengths and weaknesses. I couldn't believe my luck; strategy was somewhat of a strong suit for me. I just hoped that whatever I planned would be enough to pass the test.

"Todoroki, be my partner!" Kaminari declared excitedly and I glanced over as more and more people crowded the stoic boy's desk.

"No, wait- after one volt he's a useless idiot! Pick me!"

I turned around and crossed my arms in thought. Exactly as I predicted, people would immediately swarm Todoroki because of how strong he is.

"His power has really good range and he's easier to get along with...unlike others." I mumbled quietly, my eyes knowingly wandering to Kacchan. I then blinked in surprise, noticing that he hadn't moved from his position and hadn't gotten up to find a partner. _Maybe he's still thinking on it? Or maybe he already had someone in mi-_

"I already have a partner."

I flinched upon hearing that, though calmed down quickly as I realized it came from far behind me rather than in front. I looked back again at Todoroki who caught my gaze but averted his eyes when everyone around him groaned in disappointment.

"Haha, figures... you've got to have like a reservation or something to snag Todoroki as your partner." Kaminari muttered dejectedly before pointing finger guns at Uraraka. "Hey what about you, wanna be my partner~?"

Uraraka looked up as if to ponder his request before offering a rather blunt response. "Sorry, I was thinking of asking someone else."

"Rejected." Kirishima laughed, placing a hand on the electric teen who looked as if he was about to cry.

Afterwards, the classroom began to quiet down as students were slowly filing out. I was packing my bag when Uraraka came up to me and surprisingly declared a challenge.

"Deku, this time I want to push myself and strategize against you! I can't rely on your plans forever, so I figured I should give it a try... I'll find a great partner and win, since my pride is on the line!" She exclaimed and I laughed upon seeing the fire in her eyes.

"You're starting to sound like Kacchan." I replied, though was glad she was giving it her all. However, upon mentioning the blond I realized that he had already left the classroom.

"Huh?! He left for work without me...?"

 _Why couldn't he just wait a little... knowing that we'd be working together anyway. His behavior has been so on and off lately._ I thought to myself and frowned before realizing I had given away that I was working with him in public.

Uraraka's eyes said it all when they widened in astonishment. "Eh? You're part-timing with Bakugo? That's got to be rough."

"Yeah, you mentioned that before. What kind of job is it?" Asked Todoroki who I hadn't even realized was still around. I felt a little bashful speaking about it when it wasn't exactly the most heroic job... even Uraraka's part-time involved saving animals.

"Oh we... we work at a café..." I muttered sheepishly.

"Really? I want to go!" Uraraka chirped in excitement and I froze. _I wasn't supposed to let anyone from school know! We wear stripey aprons and entertain kids... it's so embarrassing._

"I'm free as well. Perhaps on the way there we could formulate some kind of strategy." Todoroki added, causing Uraraka to gasp in surprise.

"Todoroki is your partner, Deku?!" She looked shocked before her face slowly fell into a disheartened pout. "Now I'm not so sure I want to face off against you two..."

"Well it isn't up to us who we get put against- wait! I... I can't let you two come to the hero café! Todoroki, I thought you visit your mother in your free time..?" I rambled in a panic and tried to change the subject.

"Visiting hours are over for today." He explained nonchalantly and grabbed his bag, followed by Uraraka grabbing hers.

"C'mon Deku, the hero café sounds really cool! Plus I could go for some sweets right now~" The brunette girl stated in a sing song voice and was so fired up, I couldn't even bring myself to deny her. The three of us ended up starting the walk to the café, discussing the homework in class and speculating on the upcoming battle. Although, halfway through the walk Uraraka got a call from her father and walked away to take it. Todoroki and I decided to sit down on a bench and wait for her.

"So... uh... I was thinking about the assignment. It'll be a lot easier to discuss our personal strategy once we know who we're against. However, Mr. Aizawa wouldn't even tell us what kind of battlefield we'd be on so... so..." I fumbled with my words, trying to put together something in the awkward silence.

"We don't have to discuss it now if there isn't enough information, and I don't expect you to come up with everything on your own. We can exchange phone numbers and talk that way." Todoroki seemed to sympathize and got out his cell phone. I sighed in relief at the pressure being taken off of me and got mine as well, noticing I had gotten a message from Kacchan.

'Hurry up. There's a shit ton of cleaning to do,' I stared down at the message and furrowed my brow. Todoroki seemed to catch on to my expression before looking over at Uraraka to see if she was still talking.

"Midoriya... is something bothering you?" I pursed my lips in response, not really wanting to bother him with my own petty thoughts.

"Um... It's nothing important... I think." Was my pitiful reply and the red and white haired boy merely looked at me, unimpressed.

"Okay. But if this comes back to haunt you during the assignment-"

"A-ACTUALLY-!" I spoke up as that realization suddenly dawned on me. I wouldn't let something like this interfere with the assignment, right? Ugh... or would I? I did let my feelings get the best of me during my fight with Todoroki in the tournament. Maybe he picked up on that?

I sighed and looked over at the taller male beside me, deciding I'd just let these thoughts out now.

"It's...Kacchan." I admitted, and out of the corner of my eye I think I saw the other boy nod his head as if he knew. I continued on while I had an ear that would listen. "The way he acts towards me is weird lately. It was a bit easier to deal with him when it seemed like he hated me... but now I'm not sure. When we're at school he's a jerk and really cold to me... at work he's still kind of a jerk but there are times when he seems decent, almost kind!"

"...That guy...? The same one who had to be muzzled like a dog after the tournament...?" Todoroki asked with genuine surprise in his reply.

"Exactly! It's really messing me up. I don't know how to act around him. He's either tolerable and kind of nice or downright mean to me."

"Well, maybe you should talk-"

"Sorry guys for taking so long! I'm done on the phone." Uraraka announced as she ran back over to us, panting a bit. Todoroki and I looked at each other briefly before getting up from the bench.

"It's alright, you didn't have to run over here, haha." I replied to break the silence as we continued on our way, deciding I could just speak with Todoroki another time.

* * *

 **Bakugo p.o.v**

 _Why the fuck were they here._

I glared at the two people sitting in the booth, annoyed at the familiar faces. A scowl replaced my previous expression as I went up to Deku who was putting on his apron and speaking to them.

"First off, shithead... what took you so damn long to get here?! Second, why are _THEY_ here too?!" I snapped, seeing the boy's eyebrows furrow.

"I'm here on time... it only seems like I took longer because you left me and got here early." He countered and I grit my teeth, parting my lips to retort before being interrupted by a burst of laughter.

"Pfft... Bakugo... y-you look so cute." Came a shrill girl's voice and I looked down at the gravity chick that was always hanging around the nerd.

"What was that, round face? I'll seriously kick your ass." I shot back and she put her hands over her mouth, doing a shit job of concealing her laughter.

"What? It's a compliment... I love your apro- haha!" I rolled my eyes. _Why were they so damn annoying?!_ Especially the half n' half bastard who hadn't even said a word since he got here. Something about him really rubbed me the wrong way. Ever since the tournament he suddenly popped up here and there around Deku... and now he seems to be all buddy-buddy with him.

"Deku, sundae me please. Vanilla swirl." The brunette finally chimed in after her laughing fit and Deku nodded before walking off with her order. I ran a hand through my hair and looked around at the near empty store. This was nuts, usually the place was packed but it seemed to be slower for right now. I had already served the couple people who were here and these two were the only other ones left. I reluctantly returned my gaze to them and looked at the red and white haired boy.

"Hey icyhot, ya gonna order something or what?" I grumbled and we made eye contact for a second. I for sure was glaring daggers, however, he looked towards the menu with a lack of reaction, the bastard.

"I'm not crazy into sweets... but... I guess If you have noodles. I'll have that, please." He replied and handed the menu back to me. I took it from him just as Deku was coming back with the sundae, looking over my shoulder as the freckle faced loser began talking merrily with them.

As I walked away to the kitchen I could feel my blood boiling. It's not like it was anything new to see the girl with him... but that guy...? He always had this air around him that made you think we he was better than you and was always going home alone. It was pissing me off to see them together, and it was pissing me off more that I even cared. Not to mention that there was only a busy period of the day for an hour before things quieted down again, so there wasn't much to do. I watched as the girl got up to leave and waved them off, leaving the others. Deku got up a few times to serve and take orders but in his free time he would just be sitting with that guy and talking. A few times, the nerd would get red faced and really flustered about something. I irritably looked down at my phone, seeing that it was almost the end of our shift. As I glanced up I saw Deku approaching me with that stupid nervous grin of his as he offered me a water bottle.

"Kacchan... can I talk to you for a second?" He asked, his face a bit red as I snatched the water bottle from him. He seemed slightly put off by that but kept speaking.

"I wanted to thank you for-"

"Keep your thanks. I don't want it." I griped and his face fell before he bit his lip and continued.

"Fine then, Todoroki and I were talking... and I... I think I should tell you..." As his face got redder and redder I felt myself tense up. _Why was he acting like that? What did this have to do with that guy? No. I don't want to hear this. No!_

"Whatever it is, I don't give a shit. Leave me alone." I spat, cutting off whatever he was about to say and crushing the water bottle in my hand. Immediately afterwards, I watched Deku get angry. Angry like I had seen him when we were forced to work together. Angry like I had just ran his idol's name through the mud.

"WHY ARE YOU SO MEAN TO ME?! I only wanted to talk to you! Why do you have to be such a jerk?!" He yelled passionately with his arms clenched into fists at his sides. His green eyes bored into me with a sharp glare yet were shiny with hurt.

"Because I hate you. When have I not made that clear?!" I spat back, the words just slipped out of me so naturally. We had been going back and forth for so long... he started it so I finished it.

His angry expression dropped momentarily and he looked as if his whole world had come crashing down. However, it didn't last long at all as he merely turned on his heels and walked away. Without even looking I could tell that he was probably on the verge of tears. But that was that.

The customers still inside seemed concerned, but the store was about to close anyway. Hot n' cold left and we finished cleaning wordlessly before changing. We then stepped outside, I put the lock on the door as Deku briskly walked past me to head home. I averted my eyes from his figure as a frigid wind blew through me and I tucked my face deeper into my jacket.

It really was becoming colder.


	5. Budding

**Author's note:** It took me a way longer time to update, I got a little busy with school... haha.. but I finally got some time with the holiday. Happy belated Thanksgiving :D

* * *

 **Bakugo p.o.v**

As soon as I got home from the stupid café, I hopped in the shower. It was disgustingly cold outside all of a sudden and I couldn't afford to get sick. I turned the shower to the hottest temperature I could without scalding myself, and smacked my head against the shower wall.

 _Am I some kind of dumbass?! Why would I say that shit to him._

I grit my teeth as I was still hung up over what happened with Deku. _Why? Like I gave a shit about that tiny twerp._ _I've been assuring myself that he was beneath me for years... so how did he suddenly become relevant again? His sudden strength? The fact that quirkless little Deku was suddenly standing as my equal? No. No it couldn't be._

"Dammit." I cursed and swung a fist, banging the tiled wall of the shower as the hot water trickled over my head and down my back. _Not to mention his little connection to All Might, and the fact that everyone in class was all of a sudden team Deku. What does he have that I don't?! I do well if not BETTER than him on all of our assignments-_

My eyes widened as I recalled something, a string of curses leaving my mouth soon after.

"Fuck... shit...I forgot to get a partner." I groaned at the realization that I'd probably be stuck with some scrub since everyone halfway decent was taken. I washed myself in annoyance, the steaming water now doing nothing to help my mood before stepping out of the shower and throwing on a T-shirt and boxers.

"What about that Yaoyorozu chick? She's a flake in the heat of the moment but-... no. She's gotta be taken." I grumbled to myself and walked out of the bathroom as I towel dryed my hair.

This fucking sucks.

I sighed and collapsed onto my bed, picking up my phone to see a text message on screen. It was from that idiot, Kirishima. I scowled as in the middle of reading it, the bastard called me.

"What the hell do you want?" I snapped into the phone before he could even utter a word.

'C'mon man! You weren't answering... I still need a partner for tomorrow!' He pleaded, a hint of desperation in his voice. I sighed and switched the phone to my other ear as I grabbed the blanket and pulled it over myself. "So you forgot and now you're begging me for help?" I finally replied, a bit relieved that I wasn't the only one who'd forgotten.

'Actually no, Todoroki was already taken and I figured no one wanted to deal with-'

"Fuck off! Weird hair!" I shouted and hung up, tossing my phone to the side. _How fucking dare he make me his back up plan. Ugh. Playing second fiddle to the half n' half kid?! What do I look like?_

The more I thought about it, the more enraged I felt. I curled my hand into a fist and glared up at the ceiling. _Don't worry you icyhot bastard, I'll get my rematch,_ I thought to myself before grabbing my phone again and scrolling through the few contacts I had. There had to be someone I haven't thought of who doesn't have a partner yet. I kept scrolling and scrolling until my finger stopped on Deku's name. Immediately, unwarranted feelings of guilt came flooding back to me.

 _The loser probably doesn't have a partner yet either... the round faced girl was taken, I'm pretty sure I heard her say she was pairing with the frog chick or something when they had been talking at the café. Maybe the glasses nerd will pair with him? Although he didn't bother during the tournament..._

I rolled my eyes at how much I was overthinking it. Whatever. Deku wasn't anything special, despite catching me off guard a few times when fighting. But I knew I was forgetting something. I was purposely avoiding it.. something important.

I had told him that I hated him.

Sometimes I wish I could find that little voice in my head and shoot it dead. My eyes lowered to the phone screen and the blinking line in an empty text box, indicating for me to type.

"So what? I've told him I hated his guts tons of times already. He'll probably stare at me with that same dopey expression on his face like he did when we were kids." I assured myself, confident that he wouldn't have any choice but to accept. So confident in fact, I shot him a text right then and there to confirm it.

'Oi Deku.' I texted him, my face buried in a pillow as I plugged my charger into my phone and waited. And waited. And waited some more.

 _What the hell?! It clearly showed that he was online not too long ago. Was it that... he was still upset over what I said...?_

I shot him another text, 'answer me, loser.' However, that also went unchecked, and I watched in dismay as his online status disappeared. I glared irritably at my phone, a myriad of thoughts swirling around in my head. _All of a sudden you go inactive?! Who do you think you are? I bet if any of your other loser friends texted you, you'd reply. I bet If it was that half n' half kid... you'd answer right away._

* * *

 **Bakugo p.o.v**

"I can't believe you hung up on me, you prick!" Kirishima shouted obnoxiously loud, though I merely turned away from him and leaned onto my hand.

"Talk shit and get hit." I grumbled into my palm. "I'm nobody's plan B."

That seemed to get him significantly riled up as he crossed his arms and replied, "Yeah well, who are you paired with then?"

I gave him the sharpest glare in my arsenal before getting up. "None of your damn business, that's who! Why don't you worry about finding a partner before Aizawa gets here!"

"Crap, you're right!" He scrambled off to talk to the few people who were early, desperate to find someone last minute.

"Dumbass..." I muttered and heard shuffling from the desk behind me, indicating that the nerd had finally showed up and I could get this over with. I turned to face him, analyzing how immediately he lowered his head into his notebook. His brow was furrowed and he looked deep in thought as he frantically read through something, but I didn't want to wait any longer. He hadn't noticed me so I decided to get his attention. Although, as I parted my lips to speak, he sprung up from his desk and began to walk to the back of the classroom.

"Todoroki, I think I know how you can-"

"Hold on, nerd." I cut him off and grabbed the back of his shirt collar, yanking him and watching as he nearly fell backwards. I watched as he yelped in surprise and hovered a hand over his neck, whirling around to face me.

"What... is it." He replied quietly, a frown on his face and a slight edge to his voice.

"Partner with me." I declared and stared down at him unfazed. He however, had eyes as wide as dinner plates before he seemed to remember that he was upset.

"I already have a partner." He replied and picked up the notebook from his desk, "besides, why would you want to be paired with someone you hate..."

There it was.

"Don't give me that bullshit, I've said much worse to you. Don't be such a-" I trailed off as he turned away from me and walked towards the back.

"Todoroki! I think I may have come up with a good strategy for us. Listen to this." He exclaimed excitedly, and I could feel my eyes narrow at the sight of them.

 _...So that's how it is,_ I thought to myself and sat down at my desk. He didn't have to say anymore for me to get it... I wasn't wanted. I wasn't needed... but that bastard was? A part of me wanted to forget about this. I wanted to move on and act like I didn't care. Except I did.

* * *

 **Midoriya p.o.v**

"Hm." Todoroki hummed and looked over my battle plan. My hands felt a bit sweaty and I nervously wiped them on my pants. I gulped and awaited his verdict, but this wasn't the only thing making me feel uneasy. We made our way down the now empty hallways, the school seeming to bask in the afternoon glow as the sunset shone in through the windows. I walked side by side with Todoroki easily as a lot of the students had already booked it out of school, and I enjoyed how it felt without bustle and traffic. I then cast my gaze towards the gym where we were headed, and my thoughts wandered back to earlier when we all gave in our partner information. I promptly tensed up while recalling Kacchan's face when he learned that I was already paired up. _He seemed upset... He was serious about asking me to be his partner... but why would he want to be? It would mean talking to me and being around me. I can't tell what it is he wants anymore._ I was enraptured in my thoughts until I noticed Todoroki close the notebook and hand it back to me.

"It's solid. A move like that could probably work against most of the people in our class."

I let out a breath that I wasn't aware I was holding and offered a smile. "Yeah, and since classes are over for today, hopefully we'll be able to use the gym to practice it."

"I'll go ask someone if we can use the gym, wouldn't want to accidentally destroy something without permission." Todoroki informed me before walking off to the Phys. Ed office.

"I should change into my hero suit in the meantime..." I mumbled quietly and began the relatively short trek to the lockers. It was so quiet that I could hear every step of my shoes going down the hallway, so it only amplified the loud metallic clang of someone slamming their locker closed. I looked up out of curiosity and regretted it instantly when piercing red eyes locked onto mine, feeling myself shrink down into my shirt collar.

 _K-Kacchan... again..? All day he'd been glaring at me..._

Thankfully it was short lived, as he quickly turned for the door in that brief second. He began to walk off and I squeezed the strap of my bag against my chest as I watched Kirishima hurry after him.

"Wait up, partner!" The red haired teen shouted jokingly, earning him a string of insults from the blond. I watched them leave and felt really queasy, as if I were going to be sick. Why did I feel so bad about this whole thing? I was the one who should be upset, right?

"Wow, he's more hot and cold than I am." Todoroki piped up as he walked over to me from the office, seeing that I was still staring off in their direction. My jaw went slack as I stared back at him.

"Did... you just make a joke...?"

"Am I not allowed to?" He replied with a raised eyebrow before walking over to his own locker. "They said it was fine as long as we didn't damage the equipment."

I shook my amazement off and also went over to my locker, giving him a slight nod. "Right..."

 _I don't think I'll ever understand Todoroki either..._

* * *

 **Omniscient p.o.v**

By the time the two teens were done, the gym was littered in giant sheets of jagged ice jutting out in all directions. Both boys were flat on their backs and panting heavily, sweat dripping down their faces from their strenuous training.

Midoriya was the first to say something, raising a fist in the air tiredly and grinning. "Haa... I think we've almost got it down packed. Good work!"

The red and white haired teen nodded, his breath shallow as he sat up, "You as well. I'll handle cleaning up." He announced and stood, walking over to the nearest piece of ice.

"Oh! I can help too, I uh..." The smaller of the two realized there actually wasn't much he could do without the power of fire. Todoroki glanced over at him as he pressed a hand to the frozen walls and they began to sizzle and melt.

"It will all evaporate, so there's no need to help."

"But! The least I could do is break up the ice or some-...ow!" The freckled boy winced as he raised an arm to demonstrate his usefulness, though experienced a sharp pain. He grimaced as he realized he may have overworked his body and pulled some kind of muscle.

The taller of the two glanced back before responding, "I do this all the time. You're sore and exhausted, you should head home."

"You're exhausted too!" The messy haired boy insisted as he didn't want to leave the other with all of the work. Despite that, Todoroki seemed to dismiss his efforts with a faint smile.

"You use more of your physical body for this training than I do. I don't want you to overexert yourself and then not be able to move tomorrow."

Midoriya had to admit that the other had a point. He was already on the verge of passing out and had a full schedule of school and work tomorrow too. He pondered for a moment and then let out a deep sigh as he dragged himself off of the ground.

"Alright you win... but I'll clean up next time." He exclaimed with a weary grin as he grabbed his stuff. After saying his goodbye, he tiredly walked out of the school. He looked up at the dark evening sky as he set off on his usual route home. He walked somewhat slowly as his whole body felt achey, shivering a bit from the cold.

"Jeez... I bet it'll start snowing soon." He murmured and hugged himself before rubbing his arms. "Kacchan left without a jacket today... hopefully he's home..." The green haired boy perked up angrily at that moment, a pout crossing his face soon after. He could only stand to wonder why the blond always seemed to cross his thoughts. All day his childhood friend seemed to be glaring daggers at him... though never went up to him personally. It was as if he were waiting on him to confront him first.

"I do care for Kacchan, but if he's going to be such a jerk all the time..." The young boy murmured to himself as he gratefully arrived at his front door and unlocked it. He entered the small apartment and exhaustedly greeted his mother as he made his way over to his room door.

"Hi mom, sorry I was late... I was training at school."

"Oh Izuku? Did you not check your phone?" The green haired woman replied and peeked her head out from the kitchen.

"Ah sorry..." Midoriya replied in a sleepy daze and turned the knob to his room as he stifled a yawn. "What were you calling..." His words died in his throat as he noticed the figure posed on his bed, a familiar blond head with a perpetual scowl.

"I was calling to let you know that your friend came over and to hurry home. I didn't want him waiting long, it's been a while since I've seen him around..." His mother called from the kitchen as she happily worked on dinner for the three of them. Midoriya hadn't heard her and merely clicked the door shut with an audible gulp. Afterwards, his body refused to make a move and he could feel his eyes go wide, no longer feeling all that sleepy. The tension in the room was unbearably thick as the two stared at each other in deafening silence. In fact, It wasn't until the thumping of his heart against his chest filled his ears that the smaller of the two opened his mouth to speak.

"Ka..cchan... what are you-"

"Why are you avoiding me." Rather than a question, Bakugo's response came out as a sharp statement. His eyes never left the other who's back remained pressed against the door. Midoriya stiffened and his blood ran cold, averting his gaze from the ever-present frown on the blond's face. Bakugo of course didn't take kindly to the other looking away from him and got up from the bed. "Don't ignore me, shit for brains. I asked you a question." He snapped and walked over to the shorter male.

Midoriya's eyes narrowed a bit, fidgeting with the door handle as he shot back, "I don't know, maybe analyze your behavior in the past 24 hours!" The boy couldn't help but feel cornered with the taller, more intimidating male hovering over him. It didn't help when a hand came slamming into the wall right beside his face as Bakugo leaned in closer.

"Oh that's fucking rich, are you standing up to me?"

"Yeah I am! Why are you even here if you despise me so much!?"

"The question is, what are you gonna do about it, Deku?"

The freckled boy glared back at him before turning on his heels and yanking the door open. "Fine, if you want my room so badly then I'll just leave!" Despite his efforts to storm out, suddenly he felt himself get grabbed and pressed firmly against the wall. The force of his back meeting the surface nearly knocked the wind out of him, however what really left him breathless was the other's soft lips brushing against his neck. The smaller of the two squeaked, curling his hand into a fist as he awaited another fight. Although the taller male didn't throw a punch or kick, instead biting down on the sensitive juncture of the other boy's neck.

"O-Ow! Kacchan!" The freckled boy protested as he was fed up with the other playing with him and confused at how Bakugo had gone quiet. Midoriya struggled in the other's grasp but soon found it was to no avail as he was already fatigued from training so hard earlier. The green haired boy panted a bit from his efforts and could feel his eyes become half lidded, taken aback as Bakugo slipped a hand under his shirt and began to roam his body.

Instantly Midoriya's face burned red and he looked down in surprise. "What are you doing!? G-Get off of me-" He struggled more, panicking to the point that he even considered using his quirk. However, his thoughts and rationale soon abandoned him as the blond intimately pressed a knee to his crotch with an all knowing smirk.

"If you want me to stop, then make me." Bakugo challenged and tilted the smaller teen's chin upwards, eliciting a startled gasp. Midoriya only gazed dumbfounded in his childhood friend's eyes, his face flush as he had to admit to himself that he was feeling shocks of pleasure run throughout his body. He was at a loss for words as the taller male was rubbing him in such careful and gratifying circles, clouding his head with lust as he merely turned away.

"S-Stop fooling around with me! ...I... don't..." The smaller boy tried weakly, though even he could see his resolve start to break. His wrists were shaking, knees buckling as he bit his lip to restrict a moan of pleasure. There was so much going on in his head at once and his lust addled brain could barely keep up. _What should I... am I strong enough to push him away right now...? What if I try and I break something? Mom would come rushing in here... how could I even explain... ahh... but it feels..._

The freckled teen bowed his head in defeat and mumbled pitifully, "Why... are you doing this...?"

"I'm getting even." Bakugo uttered in a deep and seductive tone before slipping his hand into the other's boxers, giving him the satisfaction of contact not through fabric. He looked almost proud when a reluctant moan escaped Midoriya's lips and the boy trembled in pleasure before him. In fact, it wasn't long after that the smaller of the two melted into his touch...

"...A _-Ahh_..."

It might've been the stress of the situation, or the fact that it was an intimate act between these two in particular. Regardless, it was with a few quick strokes that Midoriya succumbed to the pleasure and Bakugo pulled away from the slippery mess. The freckled boy was left dazed and panting as he slid down the wall of his room in physical and emotional exhaustion. The blond glanced at his hand and the only lingering evidence of their encounter before casting one last glance at the red faced boy. His head was hung in what he could only assume was shame and he mumbled something under his breath.

"Speak up if you have something to say." Bakugo announced and opened the door to leave, though wasn't really expecting a response. It was silent except for the other's shallow breathing before he suddenly picked his head up, "I-I said I hate you too!"

The blond seemed unfazed by the other's statement, though his eyes widened slightly at his expression. Midoriya was biting his lip almost painfully and looked as if he was about to cry. Although, the look on his face didn't seem like one full of hate like he would expect, but of one who was confused and insecure.

"You should." Was Bakugo's blunt response as he turned to close the door behind him. Although, overcome with anger, Midoriya grabbed the other's arm to pull him back, "Why do you keep doing this? Going back and forth... making me think that... sometimes you may even care about me, and then going right back to being a jerk!"

Bakugo wasted no time in gritting his teeth and grabbing the other's shirt before pulling him face to face, "Because, DEKU! You need to understand that you're mine! Not any one else's!"

Midoriya hesitated at that and was stunned to say the least. He barely registered the fact that he was fiercely yanked forward and not even finding the energy to fight back anymore. Instead he was purely taken with the other's words, a crimson blush spreading across his face once more as he stared on at the blond with wide eyes.

"...W-What...?"

The two of them stood in silence before hearing footsteps hesitantly approaching the door, as well as a soft call from just outside.

"Are you two okay in there...? There's a lot of yelling going on... and food is ready." His mother informed with rightful concern. Bakugo quickly let go of the other's shirt and turned around again to leave, mumbling just loud enough for the smaller boy to hear.

"And I won't let your dumbass forget it either."

As the door clicked shut and his childhood friend was out of sight, Midoriya could faintly hear Bakugo's grumbled response to his mother about leaving. He himself had allowed his body to fall onto his rear and stare up at the door in a confused stupor. He cupped his face with both hands and could feel how hot his cheeks were, mushing them together in mortification.

 _Really... what had just happened...?_


	6. First Sprout

**A/N- Ahhh... Finals weeks is really killin' me. I think it reflects in my writing lol. Another long gap, school is wrapping up though. :)**

* * *

 **Omniscient p.o.v**

Staring in a daze out at the horizon, Midoriya blankly watched the rolling waves in the distance, barely registering the cool inviting sand under his feet. Suffice to say, he of course didn't register the enormous fist being hurled in his direction until it was too late.

"Augh!" A startled yell escaped his mouth as he skidded back across the sand and his back hit a large smooth stone.

"Whoa! Are you alright?" A concerned All Might asked apologetically as he walked over to the boy who was rubbing his back and trying to laugh it off.

"Haha... I'm okay... just, a little surprised at being greeted that way." The freckled boy chuckled weakly and stood up with a not so subtle wobble, much like a baby deer.

"Well sorry, I was expecting you to um... dodge it, young Midoriya." All Might awkwardly added with a hearty laugh afterwards. "A sneak attack that I didn't even put my full strength into, perhaps I should've taken it a little easier. Come now, you must be ready for a sparring warm up!" The large blond man dug his heels into the sand and got into a fighting stance, flashing Midoriya his famous smile.

The messy haired teen returned some semblance of a smile, though with obvious unease as he also mirrored the other's stance. These training sessions with All Might have been a part of his routine for a long time now, taking place on the very same beach that he worked frantically to clean up. They occurred early in the morning before school, and it wasn't as if he didn't enjoy the exercise and seeing his own improvement. However, he bit his lip as he knew his mind was racing a million miles a minute as his life was just buzzing with activity lately. Balancing training with All Might and Todoroki, homework, his part time job, and now...he couldn't deny that other things were on his mind a lot lately too.

The green haired boy felt his face become hot as memories flooded back to him from the night before. Just in the nick of time he was able to duck All Might's next punch, though of course it was slowed down significantly to match his own level. With a throaty yell came All Might's next onslaught, one fist after another. Midoriya tried his best to catch the weakened punches in the palm of his hands and they grappled for a bit. The young teen of course was struggling as he tried to push back against his elder who was solid as a rock and not budging from his spot. It was only after a few more seconds of grunting and straining that Midoriya let go with a large huff, wiping his face and gazing up at the taller male. He then was immediately surprised as he usually never got time to catch his breath like this during their usual fights.

"Um... All Might? Aren't we going to continue...?" The freckled boy asked as he gazed up at the rigid man who was still smiling as usual. Although, there was an obvious hesitance to speak from the blond. When he finally did open his mouth, his voice was concerned yet scolding at the same time.

"Young Midoriya... this is bad. You aren't usually this terrible." All Might quite bluntly stated after his short pause, though in a meaningful way, anyone could tell. It was the tone of a mentor concerned for his pupil and not meant to put the other down. However, hearing that from his hero shocked Midoriya to his very core, his eyes widening in dismay.

"Listen. We don't have a lot of time... and I've been trying to train you consistently. But, if you need a break then I will allow it for the time being. I know you're being pushed extremely hard at the moment." All Might continued, "Let's pick this back up another-"

"N-No!" Midoriya insisted desperately and called after his hero. "I can do it! I can!" He shouted and resumed his fighting stance with clenched teeth. Though it was to no avail as his mentor did not do the same and just stood in place, shaking his head. The freckled boy didn't know what to do to convince All Might that he could continue training, so he did the only thing that came to mind. In the spur of the moment to finish the fight, he charged the other.

"Haaaa!" In a flurry of emotion the teen swung at the other. All might was silent as he dodged the attacks fluidly, knocking Midoriya onto his back in one swift motion. Normally he would be ecstatic that the other wanted to keep fighting so fervently, though he knew that the boy was not in his right frame of mind and thinking strategically. The older of the two sighed and gazed down at the younger who was sprawled on his back in the sand, his eyes still wide and crestfallen.

"I'm sorry but... like this you cannot continue."

* * *

 **Midoriya p.o.v**

 _What am I doing..._

My feet seemed to drag as I made my way to school. I was walking significantly slower than the people around me and my head hung low in thought of this morning's events. As I slunk by the glass windows of stores I passed, I caught glimpse of my own reflection. Furrowed brows, face burrowed into my jacket, expressionless eyes. Even I could tell my own spirits had been crushed. Was it that apparent to All Might? Was I actually performing that much worse?

With a groan I slapped myself on both cheeks and shook my head, running ahead to the gates of U.A. _No! I can't become depressed over something like this! I need to do better..._

"Hey, Deku!" A distinctly female voice called and I looked ahead to see Uraraka and Iida by the doors.

"Hi... guys." I tried to muster up a small smile but my voice came out broken and despondent. Their faces immediately contorted in concern despite me putting in an effort to hide it. Knowing that they'd ask me what was wrong I put in even more effort to laugh nervously and puff out my chest.

"Ah, don't worry guys! I'm just... tired." _That wasn't technically a lie... right? Yeah. I just need them to not to worry or anything. They have their own problems to think about._

"Oh heh... yeah. I heard some people say that you're training with Todoroki. Plus our other school stuff, when do you find time to sleep, Deku?" Uraraka piped up sympathetically and pressed her fingers together.

"What?! His partner is Todoroki?" Iida asked in utter disbelief.

"Eh? You didn't hear about that?"

"Haha..." I didn't take any offense to the shock in his voice and laughed and talked with them the whole way to the classroom. We sat down and awaited Aizawa as we all prepared for the day. I laid my head on my desk, lamenting the fact that the moment my friends were gone that I was back to being depressed. With a sigh I opened my hero notebook which I had tossed onto my desk just seconds before. I flipped through the pages as I could hear chatter in the classroom on how everyone's part time jobs were going. They all seemed to be expressing that the work was hard, but that they were having a fun time with it regardless. I wanted to smile because memories of my busy time at the café came flooding in. My eyes became half lidded as I reminisced, but a blur of motion in my peripherals caught my attention. I propped my head up on my chin and gazed at the grey-jacketed back of the person in front of me.

 _The person in front of me... Kacchan!_

In an unnecessary panic I swiftly grabbed my notebook and put it up in front of my face, screaming internally.

 _Ahhhhhh! I almost forgot! With what happened this morning it really slipped my mind. What he did... what WE did... how am I supposed to face him after that? Do I just act like nothing happened? That's just asking for the impossible!_

My face felt flush as I snuck a peek over the top of my notebook at him, though it's not like he'd turn around to greet me. He was just taking out his supplies for class like normal, making a part of me feel stupid for expecting something.

"Alright 1-A, class has officially begun." I heard Mr. Aizawa's gruff voice announce as he stepped into the classroom and dropped a stack of folders and graded work on his desk. I held my breath as he handed back the grades to a recent test, exhaling in relief when I saw that I had gotten a 90%.

"First things first, congratulations to Yaoyorozu, Todoroki, and Bakugo for the highest grades on the last exam."

"Alright but who got higher than who?" Kaminari asked with a certain level of playful annoyance. He was crumpling up his own test which I could make out as a 60%. "I studied my butt off this time but those guys are always ahead!"

"Are you salty or what?" Mineta piped up teasingly waving his own test around, proudly displaying a solid 85%.

"Shut up you-! Vertically challenged dwarf!"

"If you must know, it was a three way tie" Aizawa explained, "With Iida falling just short of second place by a bit."

"Dammit..." a low curse came from the seat ahead and I watched Kacchan slouch into his seat. I was surprised that he seemed to care so much about this one grade, not to mention in awe that he managed to remain at the top with the other two. It was amazing... he was trying his best while I was getting distracted by trivial things. The thought caused me to sigh once more before I heard Aizawa clear his throat.

"Also after much discussion with the other teachers, we have the team matchups for you. Listen carefully." The room seemed to get quiet and tense as he continued, "Team Asui-Uraraka against team Yaoyorozu-Ashido. Team Kaminari-Tokoyami against team Koda-Mineta-"

"All right! Time for some payback!" Kaminari cheered and gave Mineta a devilish glare, causing the tiny hero to shiver in fear.

"Hey hey, I was just playing around!"

"I'm _NOT_ finished." Aizawa snapped and upstaged the both of them with his own razor sharp glare, his own menacing aura causing them to apologize profusely. "As I was saying... team Todoroki-Midoriya against-" I gulped audibly and leaned forward in my seat, staring straight ahead as the older man read off from a paper.

"-Against team Shoji-Jiro."

"Jeez. We just got dealt a bad hand." Jiro mumbled and ran a hand through her bangs. "How the heck can headphone jacks work against fire, ice, and brute strength?"

"Make it work. That's the idea." Aizawa replied dismissively and finished off the list. I noticed that Kacchan seemed dissatisfied with his own match up, though hadn't said a word either.

"The matches will be held in a week, which is about the same time your part-time jobs will end... so rejoice you slackers."

"Huzzah!" Mineta and a few others cheered, causing the whole class to erupt into laughter. Aizawa merely grimaced at the behavior and began writing down the lesson, eliciting a chuckle from me as well.

Even if we'll all be fighting in a week... Class 1-A will be class 1-A after all.

* * *

 **Midoriya p.o.v**

"The next written exam will take place after the physical one, so be sure not to shirk your studies either." Aizawa announced.

"Oh come on! You're the literal devil!" Kirishima groaned.

"You wanted to be a pro hero." The tall dark haired man added as he erased the board and the final bell for the day rang. The students were all forming their little groups and leaving, complaining about their workload and their plans for the weekend. I was spacing out as I tidied the books on my desk and and pushed them into my bag.

 _Another written exam huh...? Boy, this school is no joke. I'm already getting very little sleep with everything I'm trying to fit into my schedule._

I frowned as I saw a familiar brunette packing her bags and discussing something seriously with Asui. "Uraraka..?" I called to her and immediately regretted it once she tore her attention away from the conversation. _I shouldn't have bothered her... she's probably psyched herself out about the upcoming match._

"Ah nevermind!" I quickly tried to withdraw myself but to my astonishment her face seemed to brighten at my interruption.

"What do you mean, Deku? You wouldn't call me for no reason, would you? What's up?" She said with a smile and waved at Asui who informed her that she would go on ahead.

"I-It was nothing... I was just hoping you weren't too freaked out about the fight."

"Oh yeaaah... Yaoyorozu and Ashido are some tough cookies." She grumbled low enough that I could pick up on her sense of misfortune.

"That isn't gonna stop me though! Asui and I are about to request to use the gym to practice all we can! We'll need it after all..."

 _I should have figured that other teams would do the same... I guess this means that Todoroki and I can't practice today._ I glanced over at said boy who already had his bag packed, seeming to already know what I'd say.

"It's fine. I'm going to visit my mother today anyway." The red and white haired boy assured as he began to walk past. I hesitantly grabbed his shoulder however, and he eyed me expectantly.

"I um... I wanted to thank you for listening to me before." I whispered quietly to him.

He shrugged. "I was just returning the favor. You listened to me during the tournament. I'll be around if you need me." With that, he took off calmly and I stared after him. I could tell I had an awestruck expression as very soon after, Uraraka's pale hand was waving in front of my face and calling me back to reality.

"Oh uh sorry!"

"Haha. You have a real habit of getting caught up in your own thoughts and emotions, Deku."

I knit my eyebrows in mock hopelessness, though her words did hit pretty hard. "Tell me about it... there are just so many amazing people here."

"Yeah! Everyone is able to keep up with everything! My part-time includes weekends and my only days off are at random. Plus we have the match and written test next week!" The small brunette girl seemed stressed just like the rest of us, picking up her bag and offering me a weary smile. "In fact, I don't want to keep Asui waiting. I'll see you, Deku!"

"Bye..." I gave her a slight wave and grabbed my own bag, looking around the near empty classroom as I saw Kacchan getting ready to leave. He was out of his seat and already bundled up in a jacket, his face tucked comfily behind a scarf as he walked right past me. _Not a word spoken to me all day... nothing... after that we were back to square one? I didn't want that. Just the thought made me feel rather empty inside. I couldn't accept that, I had to confront him._

"...Kacchan... wait a moment."

Just as he was about to reach the door with the last of the students, I called his name. My heart suddenly felt constricted when he jerked to a halt, like it would beat out of my chest. I lowered my gaze a bit as if on instinct as the other hadn't turned around, preferring to stand there as the sounds of the leaving students got quieter and quieter.

 _What did I call him for...? What was I supposed to say? "Hey it was really weird what you did last night, could you maybe explain what you meant? Thanks?" Ugh! How stupid. How could I get out of this?_

I bit my lip and averted my eyes, struggling to find something to say to break the awkward tension. "Uh... c-congrats on getting the high score on the test? What do you think of your match up?" I uttered nervously, a pitiful excuse for an ice breaker, though it was the only thing I could think of.

"Um...also if it isn't too much trouble, maybe you could tutor me a little? I want to do better on the next test and... I-I would pay you and everything..." I suggested meekly and did my best to look up at him and not feel awkward, even managing a nervous grin. After I said that, there was an eerily quiet pause. He turned just his head to face me but it was hard to make out his expression hidden behind his scarf. Nonetheless, I couldn't ignore the deadly glare he gave me as if to discourage me from even talking to him. In fact, the other refused to say anything in response and continued for the door.

"K-Kacchan!" I shouted, a part of me somewhat pleading to talk to him. At the same time, it was also making my blood boil, and I quickly dashed to the door ahead of him.

"At least say something! Even if it's just "shut up, Deku!" Y'know it's just unfair to ignore me now! You were so upset when you thought I was ignoring you... you went all the way to my house and-!" I screwed my eyes shut, sticking my hands out to block the doorway so that he would at least hear me out. I could once again feel my cheeks become hot as I spoke, not daring to continue as I wanted to confront him about it but didn't know how.

 _Who am I kidding? He said so himself when he was there... that he was getting even... he was toying with me. I was only fooling myself if I thought there was something there. But... wait... did I want something to be there...?_

I opened my eyes upon this realization in time to see the other pull his scarf down to reveal a slight smirk. Finally, he spoke to me in a bittersweet voice, dripping with sarcasm.

"You aren't very honest, Deku. I was under the impression that you hated me. So why the fuck are you looking for me to tutor you? Go ask Endeavor's brat." He declared seamlessly.

I lowered my arms slightly in confusion. _He... was using what I had said...? But why?_

"What do you mean? You said that to me firs..." my voice trailed off and my eyes widened, stunned at the other's words. _Of course he was using that against me... I'm the one in the loser's position here. I was the one trying so hard to get him to talk to me. I felt my shoulder's slump with a dejected sigh as I closed my eyes and moved aside. After all the stuff before, it's me who looks like a fool... I played right into his-_

I heard his footsteps come towards me, thinking he would pass right by. However, his warm presence stopped right near me and he whispered near my ear, "Your place. Now. I don't have time to waste, nerd."

 _Eh?_

"Huh." I deadpanned, giving him an utterly blank face as he seemed to roll his eyes at my obliviousness.

"God you're dense. I'm going to tutor you like you asked. You're lucky we aren't on night shift, idiot." He explained in that self satisfied way that he always did, beginning to walk on ahead of me. I quickly tried to recollect my thoughts and squeezed my bag strap tightly, shuffling after him.

"But wait...? I- But you..." I shook my head incredulously at the other's sudden 180 in mood. _Was all that attitude for show, or was Kacchan really this petty? If the latter was true, then he might just be the most mercurial person on the planet._

"So...you're okay with tutoring me...?" I uttered again just loud enough for him to hear as we walked out of the school, the other in the lead as he already knew where to go.

"Yes dipshit. How many times must I repeat it?"

"Just making sure..."


	7. Satisfied

**A/N: Happy New Year's!**

* * *

 **Omniscient p.o.v**

"C'mon! You're such a nerd, yet you can't even grasp something this basic!?"

The freckled teen slowly shifted his head to the source of those scathing words, making reluctant eye contact with the blond tyrant sitting nearly shoulder to shoulder with him. He couldn't believe he basically had his own private tutor, despite eyeing the ruler clutched in Bakugo's hand like a death weapon, anyone would think this was a typical study session. Midoriya shuddered at the sight, gripping his pencil tighter and furrowing his brow. It was nearly midnight and the boys had been trying to study for hours, though between the complicated equations and putting up with each other... they were both exhausted.

"I'm not even doing that much worse than you..." Midoriya grumbled quietly in frustration as his eyes slowly became half lidded and he felt himself begin to nod off.

"Yeah but do you want a 90 on the next exam or a 100?! And stop falling asleep!" The blond snapped, slamming his hand on the desk and startling the shorter boy into an upright position.

"Jeez! Kacchan..." Midoriya muttered bitterly before rubbing at his eyes, "you scared me." The taller male clicked his tongue in annoyance, almost unnoticeably had it not been for the oppressive silence in the room. He knew he wasn't the best person for this task, as he wasn't one to explain things without getting upset quite easily. Looking at Midoriya, it was also obvious that he couldn't teach him the same way he did others. The boy asked too many questions and Bakugo would become upset when he couldn't explain his reasoning properly. He also couldn't drill information into him like he did with Kirishima, and as a result it was a nightmare to study side by side. Bakugo was a hair's breadth away from literally blowing up the nearest object he could find, though glancing over at the other made him rethink his tantrum. He appraised the smaller teen and how even though they argued, he would still try his best to grasp the right answer. He observed the indiscreet dark circles under Midoriya's eyes, the desperation of his expression, and his fidgety body language.

He was trying at least, Bakugo thought as he glanced at the clock on the wall. 11:40 p.m stared back at him as he got up from the desk and casually made his way over to the door. Noticing the motion from his side, Midoriya looked up from his assignment with worry.

"You're...leaving...? Am I that unteachable?" The green haired boy asked somewhat insecurely as he turned his chair slightly to face the other, a sense of forlornness written on his face. Bakugo stopped momentarily and placed a hand on the door frame. He knew that tensions between them were rather high at that moment, and it was the kind that was causing him more distraction than benefit. Thinking on it, he decided to just come up with a half-assed excuse to take a break.

"No stupid... I'm just gonna get a drink or something. Taking a breather might help with your nonexistent focus." The blond murmured as he began to walk down the hall, leaving Midoriya to blink after him like a sleepy toddler. He watched his childhood friend completely disappear from view before he allowed a small smile to ease its way onto his face.

 _Seriously... it's only at times like these that Kacchan seems... nice._ Midoriya thought to himself, feeling a sudden burst of warmth overwhelm him. Even if it was indirectly, or hidden under an insult, it made him feel almost giddy to be treated kindly by the other. The feeling worked against his favor however, as he was already fighting the urge to pass out. In fact, he hadn't gotten a proper night's sleep for some time now, the drowsiness was slowly getting the better of him as he folded his arms on his desk and laid his head down. It was amazing that after everything that had gone on between them, they were just casually studying like normal high schoolers. They were at each other's throats more often than not, so for them to be getting along even in the loosest definition... it was like a dream.

As Bakugo returned with a tray of iced tea for both of them, he was greeted with the sight of the other fast asleep on his desk. The blond only let out a heavy sigh and set the tray down before sitting in the empty chair and wheeling it closer to the smaller male.

"Deku... hey- dumbass..." He muttered and snapped his fingers near the boy's face, the inflection in his voice rising in irritation. He clenched his teeth as the only response he got was the slight rise and fall of Midoriya's chest and the gentle breaths he took periodically. He grit his teeth at the silence that followed, the incessant ticking of the clock in the room was driving him crazy. Then wondering how he hadn't noticed the obnoxious noise before, he glared up at the clock and noted that it was now exactly midnight.

"How dare you knock out while you've still got me here..." The usually explosive teen muttered calmly in a near whisper and leaned in to the other with a petulant frown. He eyed the way the freckled boy seemed to be sleeping like a baby, and how peaceful he looked while unconscious and away from the world's problems. Just inches from Midoriya's face he paused and his gaze lingered on the boy's lashes down to his slightly parted lips. It was such a vulnerable state to be in, especially in front of someone like himself. Just recently he had done something unspeakable to Midoriya and then so carelessly played it off as a revenge ploy. Even now, he was thinking of doing many more things to the other, and here Midoriya was giving him the perfect opening. Bakugo's eyes narrowed as he seemed to struggle with himself internally before withdrawing from the smaller male. He instead placed a hand on the boy's head and tousled the soft messy locks of hair. "Seriously... how oblivious can you ge-"

"...Kacchan..."

"Fuck! I didn't know you were-" Yanking his hand away and scrambling to come up with an excuse, Bakugo swiftly turned his head away from the other. Though flustered, it wasn't until after he thought up a halfway decent explanation that he dared to look back at the boy. Suffice to say, he got all worked up for nothing as Midoriya was still in a deep sleep. This only served to rile Bakugo up even more as he got up, red faced and mortified that he was almost caught in the act.

"Shit... even while asleep... fucking Deku." The teen murmured through clenched teeth and with a huff he grabbed his jacket and began to get ready to leave. What point would there be in staying any longer if not only to torture himself? He would give up on tutoring for today and make his escape while he still had the upper hand, at least in his own mind. As he zipped his jacket and slung his bag over his shoulder, he heard soft footsteps coming to the door and a few knocks soon after.

"Izuku? Katsuki? Are you both still studying?" A feminine voice asked and the door opened to reveal Midoriya's mother. She eyed her son fast asleep in the chair and smiled before turning to Bakugo.

"He's passed out I see, thank you Katsuki. He's been trying his hardest lately so it's nice to see he's getting a bit of help." She stated sweetly as she walked in and pulled the blanket off of the bed before proceeding to place it lovingly over Midoriya. "I see you're leaving now as well, I don't want you to go without giving you some leftovers, I'll go put some in a container for you."

"Yeah, thanks." Bakugo replied as she stepped out, picking up his scarf off the back of the chair and taking one last glance at the sleeping boy. His mother had placed the blanket over his shoulders, though he had shifted position in his sleep and it was now sliding off of his small frame. With a shake of his head at the other's hopelessness, Bakugo walked over and grabbed the blanket. He noticed Midoriya shudder and hug his arms tighter around himself before quickly covering his back once more. He then went to throw on his scarf to leave, but for some reason glanced back at the boy and noted his exposed neck.

"...Goddammit."

* * *

 **Midoriya p.o.v**

I awoke to my mother desperately shaking me and feeling like I had just traversed dimensions.

"Izuku! I've been trying to get you up for ages... you'll be late for school if you sleep any longer."

"Huh...? What do you mean, I set like 3 different- I SLEPT THROUGH ALL MY ALARMS?!" I shouted loudly as I checked my phone and bolted upright. Ugh! This never usually happens, it felt like I blacked out rather than went to sleep. I quickly whirled around to grab my uniform and felt something slip off of me, glancing down at the blanket bundled at my feet.

 _Sheesh... I just fell asleep at my desk? I even skipped all my night exercises! What did I- Right. Kacchan was tutoring me._

"You must've been really tired, because it's rare for you to oversleep. That, or you were able to get really comfortable around Katsuki."

She says that but she doesn't know the true horror of asking Kacchan to explain the ins and outs of the Pythagorean theorem. With a groan I laid out my uniform and took a quick shower, rushing through my morning routine and getting dressed as I hurriedly cleaned up my room. As I picked up the blanket I callously dropped on the floor, a loose piece of fabric fell and I gazed at it curiously. _What was this? My mother's? ...Where had I seen this before...?_

 _...Ah._

My eyes widened for a split second as I recalled seeing Kacchan with it on yesterday. I then picked it up off the floor and held out the light colored fabric, gazing at it wistfully. He hadn't left it here by mistake, did he? No... it was wrapped up with the same blanket that was around me. I blushed as I recalled the alluring warmth that enveloped me in my dreams, turning the scarf over in my hands before bringing it closer and burying my face in it.

 _It smells like him... ugh... what am I doing?_ I reluctantly pulled away and called out to my mother, hearing her respond almost immediately from the kitchen as she made her way to my room.

"Would you put this in the wash for me, please?" I asked once she arrived at my doorway. I would return it to him fresh and clean, no matter how much I wanted its scent to remain. She shot me a curious gaze before taking it from my hands and assuring me that she would. With that taken care of, I was off to school and trying my best to recall all the solutions and equations we went over last night. Having that mental stimulus while walking made the distance seem relatively shorter and with a bit of sprinting, I was able to make it to school with seconds to spare. Upon arrival I walked in to see that the mood in the classroom was heavier than ever and everyone looked completely worn out.

"Hi Deku... you seem happy..." A voice I easily recognized as Uraraka called to me and It was only then that I realized I had a smile on my face.

"Oh haha, I guess I'm just content? I got a good night's sleep." I explained somewhat nervously, though I don't really know what I was feeling guilty about.

"Reaaaally?" Came the brunette's impish reply as she grinned and approached me in a playfully menacing way, "even while having to study for the exam and upcoming battle, you got in a full night's sleep? Lucky~" She added with a heavy sigh and sat down at her desk.

"Don't worry, it's just a busy time because we're nearing midterms. It'll ease up soon." I explained with a timid laugh and took my seat when Mr. Aizawa walked in.

"Morning class, this time we're actually starting out with a gym exercise... seeing as you all look like undead zombies. I don't want to start a lesson and have half of you drooling on your desks."

Collectively the class actually seemed in favor for a bit of physical activity, I mean it is what we're here for. The active assignments were easily the most exciting, and the hero exercises we did were always a major highlight of the semester. Although, there were a few groans here and there, people shuffled out of their seats and we all began to make our way down to the gym to get changed. While walking I couldn't help but sneak a glance at Kacchan out of curiosity, as soon as the class got up I could tell that he was lagging behind everyone. I thought about going up to him and asking if he was alright, despite the fact that by now I was used to him ignoring me during school hours. Instead, I just wondered briefly why he seemed so exhausted.

 _We were up around the same time... did he not go to sleep right away after getting home? What if all the tutoring wore him out? What if he had to stay up to plan the lesson for me...?! Oh no..._

I paled at the thought of him doing all that for my sake as we entered the locker rooms and I guiltily set my bag on the bench. _This was my fault wasn't it? I seem to be messing everything up lately_ , I thought to myself as I turned to face my locker and put in my combination to the lock.

 _First the training with All Might... then-_

"Don't you look refreshed as fuck." I jumped a little at the voice and slowly turned on my heels to face none other than Kacchan. His eyes narrowed back at me with a certain fire behind them as he stood there with his arms crossed sternly. I really couldn't come up with anything intelligible to say at that moment, I mean it was so abnormal. I was so used to him only talking to me at work, and even then 90% of the time he was just shouting orders at me. Besides the time he asked to be my partner, we never really spoke to each other here.

"I uh...I guess..." I muttered back weakly. _What did he want? Surely he didn't come over here for small talk..._

"Is there something you needed?"

"You got a lotta fucking nerve, you know that?"

 _I was in for it now..._

"Kacchan, I don't understand what you-"

"Walking in here all chipper after I couldn't get a wink of sleep!" The blond angrily continued and I took a cautious step back. _So he was cranky...? Did he just want to vent to me?_

"This sucks! Waking up at the asscrack of dawn, coming here and seeing your happy mug- GOD, I'D BURN THIS FUCKER TO THE GROUND IF I DIDN'T STILL NEED A DIPLOMA!"

I stood there dumbfounded and honestly a little scared as to what was going on as the other continued to rant and rave.

"Jesus Bakugo, just get dressed already!" Kaminari yelled jokingly in our direction and I noticed a lot of people were already heading out the door. With no hesitation a "shut up, loser!" was thrown right back at Kaminari and the two began bickering. Taking advantage of the opportunity, I began Inching away, chuckling nervously in my attempted escape. I almost got away before a finger pointed in my direction, promptly halting my escape as I tensed up in response.

"Where do ya think you're going? Ya know what, this is all your fault, Deku! Staying up till midnight to tutor your ass just to have you knock out like a light!" Kacchan declared and I swear I must've looked like a deer in headlights. You'd think I'd have gotten used to Kacchan's behavior by now, but it wasn't so simple. He was like a whole other species; smart, violent, and unpredictable... which was exactly why I couldn't relax around him. In fact, I could feel myself go on edge as he gazed at me in annoyance.

"The hell are you shaking for? I'm just blowing off a little steam."

"S-Sorry!" I uttered quickly and straightened up a little. Ugh... I wasn't being very heroic at the moment...

I watched Kacchan roll his eyes as if seeing me act this way bothered him, "Stop being such a scaredy shit, I was just joking. Now get over here." He demanded in his familiar arrogant tone and strangely enough it put me more at ease. I thought he was genuinely upset with me over something, because let's face it, he's always upset about something. Even though he still sounded like a jerk, it was more like the side of him I was used to at work. I let out a breath I wasn't aware I was holding, walking over to him with an iota of newfound confidence.

 _I guess I had no reason to be so timid and scared. We worked together all the time now, right? Old habits just die hard_ , I thought as I sat down beside him on the bench in a reserved manner.

"So you're making us late to gym class because you think somehow I'm the reason you lost sleep?" I asked in confusion as we had been just lingering in this corner while all of the students on this side had gone out already.

"I don't think- I _know_." Kacchan declared haughtily and suddenly wrapped an arm around my shoulders, bringing me closer with a yelp.

"Not to mention you forgot to pay me."

I felt any color I had drain from my face as I recalled saying something along those lines. _Crap! I did say that I would be paying him! Even though It was just me spouting anything at the time in an attempt to get him to react..._

"I don't come cheap either, Deku." He continued with a grin and pushed me onto my feet with a firm pat on the back. I stumbled a bit and turned around, staring back at him in horror and lamenting the fate of my remaining cash. _He sounds like he's gonna charge me a fortune! I should've expected this from him..._

After a few seconds, I finally let out a sigh as I knew full well that I would keep to my word, "O-Okay but remember I do get paid the same amount as you, so it's not like it'll be a whole lot m- Ah!"

Suddenly with a high pitched yelp I found myself face to face with Kacchan as he grabbed me forward by the shirt, his expression serious as we locked eyes. "I'm sure you'll find a way." He muttered in a low voice, causing me to flinch at his tone and how deliberate his actions were.

 _Was he teasing me again...? This was just too much... Pulling me so close to him..._ In an attempt at salvation I scanned the room for anyone, and in silence that followed I listened carefully, the only indication of other people were the distant echoes of footsteps going down the hall. I felt my heart rate quicken as we remained in this position for what felt like ages. My eyes trailed down to the other's lips before quickly averting my gaze to the side. I had just thought of doing something crazy, and before long, dozens of similarly insane thoughts began trickling into my head.

My hands quivered as they slowly reached up and grasped at Kacchan's, still holding me hostage in his grasp. I didn't dare look him in the face as I opened my mouth to speak, but he beat me to the punch.

"Deku. What are you thinking right now."

I knit my brow at the question that came out more as a statement, hurriedly breathing out a response.

"That... you should let me go now..."

"Liar." Kacchan growled and his grip tightened as he brought me even closer, our faces brushing right past each other. I held back a whimper and screwed my eyes shut before I heard a switch in his tone as he grinned.

"You were thinking of something fucking filthy, weren't you?" I blanched at the amusement in his tone as I was now aware that that my heart was practically hammering out of my chest. _He could hear it... I know he could._

"I-It wasn't a lie!" I insisted and I flushed as I heard my voice crack, though continued on in my defiance. "I want you to let me go, you're gonna wrinkle my shirt!"

"I'm not letting you go until you admit it!

"No!"

"Say it, Deku! It's already written all over your face."

My body went rigid at that as I tensed up, mortified that my bad intentions were already made quite clear to him. _He knew and was still trying to get me to say it out loud...? He was just cruel... I can't help my own feelings, can I?_

"F-Fine..." I muttered as my body relaxed and I buried my face in the other's shoulder. "I... I was... thinking of something...dirty..." I begrudgingly whispered through clenched teeth, trying my best to hold back the tears I was on the verge of.

"And what was it?"

"T-That's unfair, Kacchan!" I quickly protested before letting out yelp as I was suddenly scooped onto the lap of my childhood friend. I couldn't move, and I could barely breathe as he replied.

"You've got a lot to say for a nerd who's already half hard." He uttered gravely.

At that point, I could just die. I said nothing as in the silence that followed, the bell reminding us of our tardiness rang loud and clear over the speakers. Pressed against the other's warm torso, I felt like a cornered rat. The grip on my shirt had loosened but Kacchan's arms were wrapped around me, securing me in place and prohibiting escape. In my hopelessness I squirmed in the position I was in, and much to my astonishment, I discovered something.

"Y-You're... hard too." I uttered meekly as I pulled back from the other with what was most likely a dreadful expression of humiliation. Kacchan however, was giving me a wicked smirk.

"Just say the word... and we could both leave here satisfied."


	8. Caught in the Tide

**A/N: It's short... but i've been busy and I still wanted to get a chapter out. Happy Valentine's day~**

* * *

 **Omniscient p.o.v**

"You're insane!" Midoriya proclaimed in a hushed whisper, his eyes wide as he frantically looked around the boy's locker room. In his anxiety he scanned the aisles for signs of anyone before his gaze settled desperately on the other, attempting to talk some sense into him. "We're in school, we could get caught at any moment..." The small teen was almost positive that some kid would come running back in, it could be as simple as someone shouting, "forgot this," and catching them in the act. However, Bakugo merely rolled his eyes at the other's paranoid ramblings and grabbed the freckled boy's face towards his own. "No one's gonna walk in here past the late bell."

"B-But... pweople..." Midoriya began again, trying to stop the other's hand from squeezing his face. "...they'll notice that we're gone. What if they send someone to get us?" He asked anxiously and his brow furrowed with worry.

"They won't catch us if we finish quickly. And even if they do see it, who gives a fuck what other people think? Let 'em see."

The small boy's emerald green eyes went wide before he averted his gaze and mumbled off to the side. "How could you not care about that? Kacchan, you're some kind of pervert..."

A blond eyebrow twitched in irritation, striking a nerve in the hot tempered teen. "Tsk. The biggest pervert here is you, the one kneeling in front of me with a hard on!" The explosive boy growled and callously placed his foot against Midoriya's crotch, eliciting a sharp yelp.

"Y-You're the one who said to!"

"And you listened!" The taller shot back and increased the pressure of his foot, causing the boy to wince and lower his head. "Look Deku, you either get it over with or suffer through gym class trying to hide it."

The smaller of the two refused to make eye contact, instead keeping his gaze down at the floor where he was kneeling. His face was flush as he mulled over the decision in his head. Would he stay here and act on his own impulses or awkwardly try to hide his lower half in gym? Both choices were terrible in his eyes, yet what else could he do?

The freckled boy sheepishly played with his hands in his lap as the other's impatience was practically palpable. If he had to choose... he'd rather not commit social suicide by going out like this. He could take care of it himself but it would take time, and there was no doubt that the other seemed to be skilled... he had already made him cum once before. Midoriya allowed himself to look up a bit more and eyed the tent in the other's pants nervously. It also went without saying that he'd have to also do something for the other in return...

Taking a small breath, Midoriya timidly reached over and began to unzip the other's pants with steely resolve. Soon enough he had also lowered the blond's boxers as well, feeling his face grow hot once he had freed him.

 _'So this is... what Kacchan's is like'_ , he thought, reaching out to grab his length with trembling hands. Bakugo went uncharacteristically silent, watching intently as the boy tentatively licked the tip. The small teen then hesitantly placed his mouth over the head and began easing his tongue up and down. The blond clicked his tongue in annoyance at the slow paced actions, reaching his hand forward and grabbing a fistful of the boy's hair.

"C'mon already! If you don't hurry up, someone will really catch you like this." The taller of the two urged, his own face flush with arousal as the sudden action caused Midoriya to yelp in surprise. He then used that opportunity to push himself further down the other's throat with a small groan.

"MPH!" the small boy grunted in response and screwed his eyes shut before pulling away to take a breath. "K-Kacchan that was mean!" He protested before letting out a gasp as the other shifted his foot and rubbed at his crotch again.

"If you don't do it properly then I won't take care of this." Bakugo threatened with an almost sadistic smirk.

"I- I am... but it's my first time..!" Midoriya whined and wiped at his mouth. The other couldn't have expected that he'd know exactly how to pleasure him, he had no idea what he was doing! With a huff, the freckled boy again placed the other in his mouth, proceeding to wrap his fingers around the base and began to pump slowly. He could feel the other's member tense slightly in his mouth as he willed himself to go farther and farther. He then closed his eyes as he began to quicken his pace, his body trembling as Bakugo continuously rubbed his length through his pants.

"Hn... Ka..." The small boy let out a moan at the foreign feeling of his actions as well as the throbbing sensation down below. The pleasure was pulsating between the two of them like energy as the air around them seemed hot and heavy. Lost in a daze, the freckled boy cracked one eye open to check if the other was feeling good as well. He snuck a glance and caught the other with an incredible expression; the blond was red-faced with narrowed eyes and was panting slightly. He looked to be restraining a moan himself as he had a hand clamped over his mouth. However, just as soon as Midoriya's head was raised, it was swiftly pushed back down by a flustered Bakugo.

"Don't fucking look up, you bastard!" He scolded through clenched teeth. A muffled groan escaped Midoriya's lips as the action forced the other's length to hit the back of his throat. Regardless, he did not dare resist at this point. Eyes clouded with lust, he merely focused on his task and increased the speed of his hand to jerk him off as he sucked. With those actions combined, the blond could last no longer and his grip on the other's curly locks tightened. With a low sigh of pleasure he thrusted once into the other's mouth and released.

"Ngh!" Midoriya's eyes grew wide as he felt his mouth fill up with the warm substance and he pulled back in a coughing fit. Bakugo giving him no time to rest as he began to press his heel against the boy's fully hard member.

"Sucking dick turns you on, huh? Who were you calling a pervert earlier?" The golden haired teen uttered those soul-crushing words without a care in the world as he watched the other writhe beneath his foot. The only response he received was a choked moan of pleasure which was quickly stifled by the mortified boy. Not too long after, Midoriya screwed his eyes shut and his whole body quivered in satisfaction as he also reached his climax.

"Not to mention you come so fast. What's the matter? You're silent. Did you run out of shit to talk, smartass?" Came Bakugo's scathing reply as he pulled the other's head up with a tug of his messy locks, relishing in the utterly spent look on Midoriya's face. The boy was breathing heavily with half lidded eyes, his face flush and his mouth dripping cum.

"Slutty nerd, you swallowed it all. I'll remember that next time when I claim your ass." The spiky haired teen declared with a grin and a not so subtle grab of Midoriya's rear.

"Ah-! Wai... y-you mean...?" If it was possible to get even redder at that point then he definitely had achieved that state as he held onto the other who had leaned forward to grope him. Although, before he could say another word, a familiar voice sounded from outside. It was then followed by the door being swung open and Kaminari calling for them.

"Yo! Bakugo, Midoriya! Aizawa said to check if you were in here...?" The electric teen shouted, puzzled by the silence that came in response. He then began to survey the front aisle of lockers before wondering if they decided to ditch, making his way over to the back row. The footsteps slowly coming closer were more than enough to get Midoriya's heart pumping quickly as he struggled to get his words out between breaths.

"Kaccha...n... I can't get up." The boy whimpered in the tiniest voice possible as he hadn't regained the strength in his legs yet. Before he could stand up completely, he felt the other's warm hand clamp over his mouth and press him quietly against a locker. The smaller of the two tried to steady his breathing and watched as Bakugo silently peered around the corner. Midoriya could feel both their hearts thumping loudly, as he was pressed up against the blond's chest. Adrenaline was running rampant through his body as he prayed with every fiber of his being that Kaminari didn't catch them in such a compromising position. It wasn't long after that a low curse emanated from the taller of two and the smaller was yanked forward as they swiftly slipped away to the bathroom. However, with there being a distinct lack of noise in the room, Kaminari didn't miss the slight sound of footsteps further back. Upon hearing this, the electric boy grinned and rounded the corner, suspecting he was right about them ditching as he called out once more.

"Midoriyaaa... Baku-"

"Shut the hell up!"

Kaminari jolted as he was cut off and Bakugo stepped out of the bathroom with an annoyed expression on his face. He made a point of shutting the door behind him and leaning against the frame menacingly, almost like a bouncer at a nightclub.

Kaminari's grin widened apprehensively at the other's disposition as he spoke up, "Were you planning on ditching P.E with Aizawa? You're crazy."

"So what if I was?! What's it to you, huh?" The hot tempered teen barked, earning a laugh from the other blond as he placed his hands behind his head.

"Well I guess I just didn't expect it from you... and definitely not from Midoriya. By the way, have you seen him around here?"

"You think I give a damn where that nerd runs off to? Go look somewhere else, idiot."

Midoriya held his breath on the other side of the door, having had no time to run into a stall before Kaminari came along. He was shocked when he was suddenly shoved into the bathroom, with no choice but to stay quiet and listen to the conversation.

"Haha you're right, you wouldn't be caught dead with Midoriya. I should've known better than to ask you... maybe I'll go check the nurse's office or something. That guy always seems to be hurting himself-"

"You talk so damn much! Just go, dumbass." Bakugo snapped irritably, though it was his typical response, and soon after Midoriya could hear footsteps wandering off. After the coast seemed to be clear, a subtle knock to the door made the freckled boy nearly jump out of his skin. However, it was followed by a low and calm voice.

"Be out in 5 minutes. I'm going ahead."

This was accompanied by another set of footsteps walking away, and soon Midoriya was left to his own devices. He let out a huge sigh and tried to still his poor beating heart... he felt like he had brushed with death dozens of times in the past few minutes.

* * *

 **Midoriya p.o.v**

"Class dismissed." Mr. Aizawa recited monotonously, resulting in an orchestra of chairs scraping the floor and desks clattering. It was a particularly dull lesson today and it seemed as if everyone was excited to leave, regardless of the fact that they still had part times. I stood up myself and sighed as I set my body on autopilot, packing my books away into my bag. I grimaced at the inconspicuous separate bag that I quickly stuffed in as well, a casual reminder that I was going commando at the moment. I grimaced and willed away the blush that threatened to rise to my cheeks. Even fighting with villains wasn't as terrifying as almost literally getting caught with your pants down... I also only barely managed to convince Mr. Aizawa that I was late to P.E because I wasn't feeling well... definitely not a lie!

 _It had for sure been a crazy day nonetheless, I must've had a momentary lapse in sanity for doing something like that._

Lost in my own thoughts, I yelped when I felt something tug on my wrist. I then tentatively turned to face Kacchan who eyed me expectantly with sharp crimson eyes.

"...Yes..?"

"Stop gawking and grab your shit, loser."

"O-Okay." I promptly replied, my brow furrowing as I slung my bag over my shoulder and was tugged along. Struggling to match his pace, I could only speculate what was happening right now.

 _Where is he taking me? He probably wouldn't tell me if I asked..._

I glanced down to where his hand grasped my wrist as he hurried us down the hallway and to the front doors. Suddenly, a thought occurred to me that wouldn't have a week ago.

 _Ah. Could it be we were walking to work together?_

It was surprising, seeing as Kacchan would always leave ahead of me, even if we were coming from the same place. As I tried to figure out the other's reasoning, that theory was dashed as we passed the gate to U.A and were headed off in a completely different direction.

"Kacchan, w-where are we going, we can't ditch work!" I insisted and pulled my arm from his grip. He scowled when I withdrew my hand from his and turned on his heels to face me.

"It's fine! Now, come on." He shouted and made a grab at my hand again, however, I jerked away and stared at him firmly. _Just how much am I allowing myself to get caught up in his flow? I'm already struggling with plenty of things..._

"Showing up late to gym class was one thing but... this is-"

"Shut up about it, Midnight let us have the day off!" Kacchan growled, causing me to blink in surprise as I stared at him dumbfounded.

"Eh? ...When? I didn't get any message..."

"I asked her not to say anything, stupid. I said I would tell you." He explained in a low aggravated tone. I furrowed my brow at that, still majorly confused at what was going on. Why would he try to keep our day off a secret?

"What are you playing at...?" I finally decided to ask him openly, though it was to my surprise that he walked right over to me and leaned forward. Feeling a familiar heat rise to my face, I casually leaned away to play it off. However, not before yelping in surprise as the other flicked my forehead.

"Ow... geez, what was that for!" I whined and reached up to rub the spot.

"Use your damn brain for once!"

I frowned at that and stared at the concrete ground pensively. _He purposely asked Ms. Midnight not to inform me of a day off? That's strange, if he wanted to trick me like that then... no, Kacchan wouldn't have told me if he wanted to fool me. It was almost as if he were trying to surprise me or something... as if he wanted free time with me. Almost like a da-_

I whipped my head up in astonishment as I pieced together my theory. My face definitely reddened as I stuttered out my response, "d-da...date...? Is this a date?!"

Before Kacchan could even open his mouth to speak, I began to word vomit my thoughts uncontrollably. "Ahh! You asked Ms. Midnight s-so she knows that we're going somewhere together! So she'll think we're dating and going out to do couple things- what if she tells everyone that we-"

"DON'T BE STUPID, DUMBASS!" Bakugo shouted, a scowl etched into his face as he cut off my rambling. "She probably thinks we're gonna do shit like play video games and watch movies."

I sighed in response to that and Kacchan huffed, turning away from me haughtily. _Could anyone blame me for being worried though? He was so impulsive... he's even got me caught up in his antics so easily. I looked over at his back facing me, a childhood friend who's back I had been chasing since we were little. Maybe... it wasn't so bad to walk alongside him?_

"Okay, I'll go. Then where are we headed...?"


	9. Lost in Nature

**Midoriya p.o.v**

I immediately regret asking. After taking a train far past the suburbs, we were a long ways from home and hadn't told our parents a thing. Where was this place anyway? I clasped my hands in my lap as the train rattled down the track at a slow and steady pace, watching the dying light of sunset flicker past each stop. It was late afternoon so the train was barely populated and the only other person in the subway car was a sleeping man. I fidgeted with my hands a bit as I contemplated starting a conversation, maybe I could even get a clue as to where we were going. Shifting my gaze over to Kacchan who was sitting right beside me, I cleared my throat in hopes of grabbing his attention. Although, upon seeing his face turned away from me and resting in his palm, I could already tell I wasn't going to get a response out of him.

I let out a disappointed sigh and chose to just look out of the window as the train rocked our bodies every so often. The silence was sort of uncomfortable though, and I still had a burning curiosity to find out where we were headed. Not to mention that it was still a school night... we couldn't be going that far.

 _That being said... the least he could do is talk to me!_

We had been on this train for more than an hour in complete silence. I could practically feel my patience wearing thinner as Kacchan didn't so much as stir next to me. I shifted my gaze to him and watched bits of sunlight illuminate his face and make the tips of his hair a golden color. Finally, with a pout on my face I spoke up and decided to ask.

"Kacchan... it's getting late. Remember, we still have class tomor-"

"Just shut up." He murmured into his palm. Without even looking at me I could just tell that he was scowling.

I knit my brow at his dismissive response. Did he want to keep it a secret that badly? We couldn't be going anywhere too important, considering we were still in our school clothes.

 _Ugh... what's the point in guessing? Kacchan won't tell me a thing._ _From what I can tell, we were far from the main attractions in the city too._

"Do YOU even know where we're going?" I asked halfheartedly, trying to prolong the conversation.

"Shut up already! I know where we are... vaguely."

"Kacchan!" I whipped my head in his direction, eyeing him in disbelief.

"Tsk."

Just then the train came to a grinding halt at the next station and the blond quickly looked out of the window.

"Let's get off here." He declared hurriedly and yanked me up from where I was sitting. I on the other hand, was just trying to formulate the right amount of shock and exasperation to respond to him.

"H-How do you- Kacchan, what do you mean vaguely? Do you not know where we are?!" I asked incredulously as he tugged me out of the train doors and onto the platform. He was far more concerned with looking around at the sky and our whereabouts as he all but dragged me out of the station. It was seriously getting to me that he was ignoring my protests even now. Where he was grabbing my wrist felt strained as I began to pull back from his grasp.

"Stop ignoring my questions! We could really be lost here!"

"Just fucking walk forward!"

"No! You're the one who called me out here in the first place and you don't even-"

"FINE! Fucking Deku, would you rather go off and train or some shit?!" He shouted fiercely and turned on his heels, grabbing my shirt as glaring crimson eyes were suddenly set on me. "I'll seriously kill you for wasting my time, don't fuck with me! Who do you think I'm doing this for, huh?"

I could feel it. Something definitely snapped at that. "Wasting YOUR time?!" I shouted back, completely ignorant to how we looked to anyone passing by.

"YOU forced us out here to country west wherever the heck this is-!" I shouted, completely losing my cool as I grabbed his shirt equally as tight.

"Ever heard of getting lost in nature, you DAMN LOSER?!"

With teeth bared we struggled in each other's grasp, neither of us letting up as we stared each other down. However, it was in that intense moment that his words registered and I just had to laugh at the absurdity of the situation.

"Haha... getting lost in nature? That's your excuse?" A chuckle escaped my lips, and soon after I was caught up in a cathartic giggle fit.

"...Why are you..." Kacchan mumbled in confusion and his grip on my shirt loosened. I could only laugh even harder at his dumbfounded expression which only seemed to reignite his angry flame.

"What's so funny, you damn nerd?" He grumbled irritably and I fell over laughing under the nearest tree.

"Nothing hahah, I-I mean... I don't even really get why I'm laughing... it's just- only you and I could get lost out here and then almost end up in a fistfight." I began, putting a hand over my stomach that was aching from my laughter. Much to my amusement and his choler, the blond still had a perplexed expression on his face.

"I'm not usually so irrational, Kacchan." I continued and looked up at him, a smile still plastered on my face. "It's like you drive the reason out of me and make me crazy."

I watched his eyes go wide at that and he turned away quickly, though I knew better than to point it out to him. I could just barely see the faintest red in his cheeks as he let out a long sigh and plopped down near me under the large tree.

"Yeah you're atleast right about one thing... normally your paranoid ass would've been looking up directions and freaking the fuck out." He finally murmured. I eyed him calmly, feeling oddly refreshed after the tension and laughter.

"Well yeah, we're out in the middle of nowhere."

I said that as if it was no big deal, yet even I wanted to know why I was feeling so strangely relaxed. This could turn into a dangerous situation considering we don't know much about our surroundings. Being out here where there wasn't a hustle and bustle of city life, and people to ask directions. There were long stretches of road and plenty of woods around us, barren of most urbanization. Somehow, despite our situation... it was almost peaceful.

The both of us sat side by side in silence just as we had done on the train. This time though, I was content with the quiet. I rested my head against the rough bark of the tree and took in our current situation. Although, instead of my head being filled with worry, I listened to the fleeting chirps of birds go by. Also the sounds of animals and the wind blowing through trees, as well as the slight intakes of breath from my right side.

 _Perhaps getting "lost in nature" wasn't such a bad idea._

A smile crossed my face and I looked over to the seemingly brooding blond beside me. "Hey Kacchan... you know, you're really rude."

"Ah? What of it?"

"And mean... and obnoxious-"

"You trying to pick a fight, shitty nerd?" He growled, narrowing his eyes as he turned to face me.

"I'm trying to compliment you..." I laughed.

"How the fuck is that a compliment?" He replied indignantly and my smile widened. I locked eyes with him to show my sincerity as I continued.

"We almost fought earlier and you would've just gone along with it. It made me realize something that I've come to respect... that no matter what, you don't hold back with me." I averted my gaze to the ground and took note of a fallen leaf, taking it between my fingers and twirling it around.

 _Honestly, what was I saying? Why did this come to me now?_

I paused for a second as I thought over what I wanted to convey, deciding that I should say it anyway. "I just wanted you to know that I appreciate you never treating me as someone weaker than you, even when we were kids and I was quirkless... thank you, Kacchan."

He seemed to appraise my words for a while, though I didn't see a change in his expression. He then started looking up at the sky with jaded eyes as he mumbled out a response.

"Whatever."

I let out a small breath, accepting that as the best response I would get out of him. However, before I could return to my thoughts, he spoke up again.

"Deku. Let's go to the top of that hill and watch."

I furrowed my brow and followed his line of sight, taking in the sight of a small grassy park with a clearing. It was surrounded by trees but there were benches and street lamps. No one was around, but it was late, so that didn't seem out of place.

"Watch..?" I replied with a puzzled expression as Kacchan got up and brushed off his pants. I didn't get a reply though, curiosity spurring me along as I wordlessly followed the other. It was dusk at this time and the park was covered in a blanket of darkness. I was in awe at the loudness of the crickets and other creatures that I could hear so clearly in the woods. It was a stark contrast to the city where the sounds of traffic and people dominated everything.

"What exactly are we watching?" I asked obliviously as we walked along the forest path, the trees being so tall that they became a roof over our heads. I didn't really expect a reply as I trained my eyes on the forest where I thought I saw something move. I was so focused on it that I ended up running right into Kacchan's back as he stopped abruptly in front of me. I took a step back and parted my lips to apologize, hesitating when I saw him point up at the sky.

 _He wants to watch the sunset or something? But it was already..._

I walked ahead to where he was, right at the edge of the clearing that we saw from below. I tilted my head slowly upwards before instantly dropping my school bag in surprise, my eyes scanning the plethora of stars scattered across the sky like diamonds.

"...W-Whoa!" I called out, astonished at the possibly thousands of stars that dusted the sky. A huge grin spread across my face and I ran further out into the low grass of the clearing. Kacchan followed and sat in the soft field, seemingly satisfied with himself as I plopped down right beside him.

"How did you know that we would see- I mean from all the way out here...?" I nearly stumbled over my words in excitement as I watched the other lean back on his palms.

"The city has too much light pollution, we had to come out this far." He replied, and looked at me almost expectantly. I don't know what kind of face I was making though, as I blinked at him in curiosity.

"W-What is it...?" I stuttered, leaning away warily as Kacchan moved in close suddenly and narrowed his eyes.

"...Do you not like this or something? I figured you'd be into this nerdy astronomy shit." He grumbled. Immediately I waved my arms around in panic, "N-No!"

I watched as his glare became sharper before I quickly explained myself. "I mean... of course I like it. This is amazing, Kacchan." I exclaimed with a big goofy smile and that seemed to pacify him.

Haah... seems he's easier to handle than I thought. Though wait... he figured I would like seeing this? Doesn't that mean...

My face lit up even more as the implications dawned on me, glancing shyly at the other as I pushed myself to ask. "Kacchan, did you... actually plan this?"

No answer came my way and my enthusiasm deflated a bit, though that soon changed as he offered a brief reply.

"We were never actually lost."

He glanced away from me after that and looked back at the stars, myself following his gaze in absolute jubilation. He had gone out of his way to plan something this amazing for me? The Kacchan I know from not too long ago wouldn't even think about it.

The tiny white dots in the sky seemed to mirror the way I was feeling. They seemed almost animated as they twinkled brightly and consistently against the deep blue background. Suddenly, a swift movement in my peripherals caught my attention and we both sat up straight as one of the stars streaked past in the blink of an eye.

"Ah! Did you see that?" I blurted out in wonder, though received no answer again. I didn't dwell on it though, my mind taking me back to all those kid's movies where they would make a wish on stars like that. Figuring that it would be fun to give it a try, I waited for another shooting star. Surprisingly, it wasn't too long after that another blink of movement caught my excited eyes.

I had a lot I could wish for, this and that! Although, I went with what I was feeling at that moment. _Nothing said I couldn't wish for multiple things at once, after all!_ _The safety of my family and friends, doing well in training with All Might, and... possibly even..._

I screwed my eyes shut tightly as soon as I saw the light go by. It shocked even me that I was taking this so seriously, as I concentrated on keeping my eyes closed and thinking about my wishes. My focus was only disturbed when I felt the warmth of another hand firmly encase my own. In a flash my eyes were open again and I immediately looked up at Kacchan to see him still facing the sky.

H-Huh...?!

All of a sudden my heart was racing and I lowered my gaze in shock, fixated on my hand and Kacchan's which was now resting over mine.

 _Jeez, I can tell that I'm turning red! Had... he done that by accident...? That was probably the case. I shouldn't let myself get so excited over nothing._

I swallowed thickly and took a short breath, fidgeting a bit as I debated shifting my hand away so he wouldn't notice. Although, through the sound of my own heartbeat thumping in my ears...

"Don't pull away this time, shitty nerd."

I furrowed my brow at the barely audible words that Kacchan muttered under his breath. It was so low that I'm not even sure if he said it, nonetheless, I could feel my cheeks grow hotter as I glanced at the grass at my feet. I then pulled my knees up to my chest and buried my face in them, attempting to conceal my embarrassment. I didn't care if it was an accident... I just didn't want to ruin the moment. I wouldn't dare say anything, nor even twitch my hand out of fear that i'd alert the other of his mistake. At least for the sake of my heart... I'll assume he didn't realize.

We sat together like this for a long while, regardless of the fact that it was sort of a brisk night. Even when the wind blew chills through my clothes, I didn't really feel the cold. I didn't want to go home, and I certainly didn't want to move from this spot. However, this couldn't last too much longer I knew in the back of my mind. To my surprise, it was Kacchan who moved first and pulled his phone out of his pocket.

"It's getting late, c'mon."

I nodded and collected my things before walking back with him to the station. We waited a while for the next train and once again sat in comfortable silence. I was getting somewhat used to the way Kacchan operated, I noticed. The corners of my mouth quirking up in a sleepy smile as I watched the other doze off slightly. Soon after we had reached the point where we part ways, and I began to walk from the station closest to my house.

"It is rather late actually." I mumbled worriedly, hoping the text I sent my mother on the way here was enough to ease her mind. The jingling of my keys in the lock seemed to alert her of my presence as the moment I stepped in, she looked up at me from the couch.

"Welcome home, Izuku." She exclaimed with a big smile on her face, and I let out a relieved sigh. It didn't last long though, as I soon watched her brow crease.

"School must've been tough... you stayed out so long. You're tired, aren't you?"

 _Oh, she thinks I was at school the whole time? I just let her know that I would be getting home a bit later..._

"Err no, it was fine..." I uttered quietly as I took off my shoes and slid my bookbag off my shoulders. The last hour or so began to replay in my head, as I thought that I couldn't bring myself to fill her in on what I was actually doing.

"Well your face is all red, you know. I hope you didn't get sick because of how cold it was outside." She explained in concern. I stiffened a bit upon hearing that and hugged my book bag to my chest, hiding my reddened face behind it.

"...N-No mom... I was very warm today." I murmured wistfully and offered a small reassuring smile. She hummed in approval before I thanked her and shuffled off to my room, immediately collapsing onto my bed and drifting to sleep. I must not have realized how tired I was...


End file.
